


Unravelling Mysteries

by kiranosaurusrex



Category: Kamen Rider Drive, Kamen Rider Gaim, Kamen Rider OOO, Kamen Rider W (Double)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-06 09:16:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8744239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiranosaurusrex/pseuds/kiranosaurusrex
Summary: A new mystery to be solved arrives at the Narumi Detective Agency one day in the form of a young man from Zawame City - Kureshima Mitsuzane. He seeks help from Shotaro and Philip to find Takatora, who has been kidnapped by a yet unknown group of attackers. The things he reveals to the group from Fuuto are but the tip of an iceberg though. Soon enough, Shotaro and Philip find themselves fighting as Kamen Rider W once more as the peace and quiet in Fuuto is shattered by an old enemy.--Mainly W x Gaim Crossover but there will be cameos (at least) of other people from other Rider Universes in the future.Writing this mainly for Ms. C from T (you know who you are lol) but I hope more people will enjoy this. This was inspired by the fact that the actor who played Sonozaki Ryubee in Kamen Rider W is also the one who plays Kureshima Amagi, father of Takatora and Mitsuzane, in Gaim (Gaim Gaiden - Zangetsu). I tried to make things fit into canon as much as possible but of course there might be some instances where I am making use of my 'creative freedom'.





	1. Prologue

It was a rainy afternoon in Fuuto. And the clouds promised even worse. The wind was picking up already and the sound of thunder was audible in the distance. Shotaro made a face when he looked out of the window. Bad weather was usually bad news. Nothing good ever happened on a day like this.

 

The sound of water boiling in the kettle drifted over from the kitchen and Shotaro could hear Akiko rummaging around in it. She had been out on a date with Terui but they had gotten caught up in the rain and returned early. He was getting changed in the bathroom.

 

“Of course the weather had to pick today to take a turn for the worse. I did not hear about this!! The forecast said it would be nice.” Akiko muttered to herself and set two mugs of hot coffee onto the table. She stretched out her legs and waited for her boyfriend to finish.

 

With a soft sound, the door to their ‘secret’ basement opened and Philip strode in. “Listen you two, have you ever heard of Murphy’s Law? It says that when-”

 

A door banged open and startled all of them. It hadn’t been the bathroom door though, although Terui had stepped back into the main room.

 

The main door had been thrown open and the sound of the wind howling and the rain hitting the street could be heard for a moment before it was closed again. A completely drenched figured had appeared in the doorway and proceeded to step inside. Their legs seemed unsteady and wobbly, barely keeping them up as they stumbled rather than walked.

 

Philip, standing closest to the person, reached out to steady them.

 

“Are you alright?” Akiko asked and got onto her feet as well.

 

Looking up, the person turned out to be a young male. Maybe around Philip’s age. His eyes were the same as the other’s as well - old before his time, having seen more than someone his age should have. He looked at each of them in turn until he stopped at Philip.

 

“I’ve found you.” He sounded relieved. “I have been looking for you, Sonozaki Raito.”

 

A jolt of electricity seemed to go through everyone in the room and they tensed at the mention of the name. Philip slowly pulled away from the male again.

 

“Who are you? And how do you know that name?”

 

Steadying himself with a hand on the wall, the male replied, “My name is Kureshima Mitsuzane. I’m the son of Kureshima Amagi. That name might not tell you much but I’m sure another one will.” He paused and then turned his body around slightly to rest more comfortably against the wall with his back and full weight. “I believe that in this city of Fuuto he is better known as Sonozaki Ryubee.”


	2. Chapter 2

Philip sat on a chair in the corner quietly, while Terui and Akiko were sitting on the armchairs usually reserved for visitors of the detective agency. Shotaro had moved from behind his desk to stand by Philip’s side. They were waiting for their guest to get dried and warm again - Philip had offered Mitsuzane some of his clothes to wear for now and the other had felt better after some food and something warm to drink.

 

Speaking of his partner, Philip had gotten rather quiet but also agitated after Mitsuzane had introduced himself. He’d told the other to get dry first and then to let them hear his story.

 

Shotaro decided to break the silence. “Do you know him, Philip?”

 

“No.” Philip shook his head. “At least not as a person. I did hear his name before, though.”

 

Terui’s eyes narrowed. “From who? Your family?”

 

Again, Philip shook his head.

 

“If what he says is true, wouldn’t that make him your brother?” Akiko asked.

 

“Philip,” Shotaro looked at the shorter male, ignoring Akiko’s question. “I can tell that something is bothering you. Spill.”

 

“I didn’t tell you about this,” Philip started, “But someone else appeared in the Planetary Bookshelves a while ago. I haven’t seen much of him, though. We talked a bit but only briefly. I feel him around though. His presence is different from what my sister’s presence felt like. He likes to read the books but he doesn’t seem to do anything with that knowledge. And he’s always in the Bookshelves, he never disappears.” He paused briefly and sighed. 

 

“Before we went our separate ways, he looked at me and then he told me to not be surprised if someone called Kureshima were to knock on my door one day. I didn’t think it would be so soon.” Philip finished his account.

 

Shotaro narrowed his eyes. Terui beat him to voicing his thoughts though. “Why didn’t you tell us about this sooner? Someone walking around the Planetary Bookshelves isn’t something you just brush off! What if they are-”

 

“I know! But,” Philip interrupted the other, “I could tell he didn’t have anything to do with the Gaia Memories. He wasn’t, isn’t a Dopant. It felt like he belonged in the Planetary Bookshelves somehow. Trust me, I can tell. He’s different. He was more like me, how I used to be. I felt like we could get along. He was interesting to talk to.”

 

Before anything else could be said between them, the door to the bathroom opened and closed again and Mitsuzane stepped out.

 

“Feeling better?” Akiko went over to guide him to the chairs, her big sister mode activated upon seeing the pale and somewhat frail looking young male.

 

Mitsuzane thanked her politely and sat down. He wrapped his fingers around a steaming mug of tea waiting on the table for him but didn’t drink. After a few moments, he spoke up, “I’ll get straight to the point. I came all the way to Fuuto from Zawame City to ask you for help. I am looking for my older brother. From what I’ve been able to piece together, he was taken here not too long ago. Against his will.”

 

“He was kidnapped?” Shotaro narrowed his eyes. “Why? By whom? And why would they take him to Fuuto out of all places?” And why did we not know about it? He added the question in his mind but he knew that at least Philip and Terui were probably thinking the same thing. Usually there was nothing that happened in Fuuto that they didn’t hear about. So whoever had done this was a force to be reckoned with.

 

Shaking his head, Mitsuzane replied, “I don’t know. I just know that whoever did it cannot have been ‘normal’. If you know what I mean. My brother isn’t someone who would let a bunch of ordinary kidnappers get him.” Shotaro had to agree with that as it confirmed his earlier suspicions.

 

“How did you find us?” Philip asked cautiously.

 

Pulling something out of his pocket, Mitsuzane held it up for everyone to see. It looked like a lock with the face of Kamen Rider W on it. When he placed it onto the table, it started glowing and then disappeared. The Cyclone and Joker memories lit up for a short moment in Philip’s and Shotaro’s pockets, as if echoing the glow of the Lockseed.

 

“That Lockseed showed me the way once I arrived in Fuuto. Before I got here, I searched for your city. When I looked up Fuuto, I came across Sonozaki Ryubee and I was surprised to say the least.” He pulled out his phone and opened a picture. “The man you see on this photo is Kureshima Amagi. My late father.”

 

“They look exactly the same!” Akiko stated the obvious. “Are they the same person?”

 

She got ignored by the other’s again.

 

“You said that your father was better known as Sonozaki Ryubee in Fuuto. Do you have any proof of that?” Shotaro asked. “They could not be the same person for all we know.”

 

“I partially said that to get your attention, to be honest.” Mitsuzane admitted. “I have no proof. I just went with the ‘answer’ to this riddle that seemed more right to me. Call it a decision I made by gut feeling. If you look at those pictures, there are really only two options, aren’t there? Either for them to be twins or for them to be the same person.”

 

Philip frowned and leaned in closer to look at the picture. He shared Mitsuzane’s sentiment for some reason. He felt the same way, he felt that this was Sonozaki Ryubee and not an imposter or twin. It felt like the person he had ‘met’, the person he would have called ‘father’ if it hadn’t been for everything that had happened.

 

“Even if you looked at the name Sonozaki, it shouldn’t have been easy to make the connection to us.” Shotaro crossed his arms. “Although I guess that Lockseed thing of yours might have been a hint. I feel like I’ve seen one of those before somewhere.”

 

Mitsuzane smiled. “It guided me somehow. I guess it knew where the source of its power was. There is no need to keep it a secret. I know you are a Kamen Rider. It’s alright. We’re in the same boat. I actually think that we have fought together before, too.”

 

That seemed to have struck something in Shotaro. “That’s right. I think I’ve met a guy from Zawame before. What was his name? Kai-something. Kaito, I believe was it? Do you know him? How is he doing these days? I heard things were pretty rough in Zawame a while ago.”

 

A sad look crossed Mitsuzane’s face and he looked down. “He’s dead.”

 

“Oh.” Shotaro made a face and then apologized. “I’m sorry.”

 

“You couldn’t have known.” Mitsuzane shook his head.

 

Akiko hit Shotaro with her slipper for good measure and he glared at her.

 

Terui tried to stir the conversation back on track. “So can you give us any more clues as to why your brother might have been taken? And again, why to Fuuto out of all places?”

 

“I don’t know much but I’ll tell you as much as I can.” Mitsuzane closed his eyes and tried to recall everything that had happened in the past couple of days. “We’d just come back from a business meeting abroad. Just as we arrived in front of our home someone attacked us. They clearly went for my brother from the start. I tried to help him but I couldn’t do much. They took him away while I had my hands full with some of the people they had left behind. If you can still call them people that is.” They hadn’t been Invess but they also hadn’t been human. Mitsuzane only recalled all of them being shrouded in darkness.

 

“Why would they target you?”

 

“I tried to look into that, too. My family doesn’t only have friends after all but that led me nowhere. Then, I saw one of the guys dressed like the ones who had attacked us doing some kind of transaction with a member of a sect that is active in Zawame, the Black Bodhi Tree. I confronted them and they said that the guy had come from Fuuto and had come to collect some of the leftover Lockseeds the Black Bodhi Tree still had in its possession.”

 

“What would he have wanted those Lockseeds for?” Shotaro frowned.

 

Terui crossed his arms. “No reports of such things being transported into Fuuto have been received. I guess there are some questions I need to ask at work.”

 

“Lockseeds?” Philip frowned. “I’ve heard of something like that but never looked into them before. How intriguing.” He got up. “Maybe I should do a search on it. We could get a clue as to why people would want someone who can use them.”

 

“It wasn’t just the Lockseed but well, it was mainly that. There was also another hint but it might sound a little unbelievable. I saw a young woman in my dreams. She also told me to go to Fuuto and to find Sonozaki Raito. I said didn’t know what he looked like but she said I would recognize him when I saw him. And well, it might sound weird but when I saw you earlier, I just knew.” Mitsuzane added. “Everything seemed to lead me here.”

 

Shotaro made a face. “Things are getting a little too confusing here. Let’s work with what we have first and move from there. Philip, let’s do it.”

 

“Am on it.” Philip closed his eyes and spread his arms. “Keywords.”

 

“Zawame City,” Shotaro started. “Kureshima Amagi. Lockseeds.”

 

Mitsuzane blinked. “What is he doing?”

 

“He is going to search the Planetary Bookshelves. It’s a huge data archive, to put it simply. It’s all, well, inside his head, I guess.” Akiko tried to explain.

 

“A lot of data in his head? That almost sounds familiar.” Mitsuzane muttered and glanced at his bag briefly before looking back up at Philip and Shotaro again. The latter was pacing back and forth, waiting for his partner to finish the search.

 

Philip frowned. There had still been books before they had put in the final keyword but now there was nothing left. It was strange. He’d never not found anything.

 

“There is no book on Lockseeds. How very strange.” Philip muttered, voicing his confusion and also letting the others know about his progress or lack thereof. “There shouldn’t be anything that isn’t recorded in the Planetary Bookshelves. This is the memory of Earth itself. Everything should be here.”

 

“Maybe that’s because only one person really knew how they worked.” Mitsuzane mumbled, more to himself than to the rest. Shotaro did catch some of his words though and raised an eyebrow. It seemed like they still had a long way to go to get to the bottom of this story.

 

Philip was about to leave the bookshelves again when he saw that person again, watching him. Then he showed Philip something.

 

“A lemon? No, a Lockseed?” Philip murmured.

 

Jerking up, Mitsuzane looked at the other. “A lemon Lockseed? It can’t be! But there is only one person who would have that. Professor Ryoma. Sengoku Ryoma?” 

 

Philip addressed the other by the name Mitsuzane had given him. And got a reaction. “He says that Sengoku Ryoma is indeed his name. He seems surprised that you know his name but he figures you must be a Kureshima, either Mitsuzane or Takatora. I told him you are Mitsuzane.”

 

Mitsuzane looked down. He wondered if Ryoma would cooperate with them now that he knew that he was here but well, he had to try. First, he needed to share more information with the people around him, though. “Sengoku Ryoma is the creator of the Lockseeds. He is the only one who knows everything about them on this planet, I guess.”

 

“He says he technically does but he seems to be lacking some of his data.” Philip relayed.

 

Shotaro interrupted Philip and Mitsuzane here for a moment. “Wait, who is this guy and how come he’s able to access the Planetary Bookshelves? And why does Philip think he can just be there? If that guy is human-”

 

Mitsuzane tried to answer as best as he could. “I can’t answer those last questions but I’ll try to answer the other one. Sengoku Ryoma was a scientist working under both my father and then my brother. He created the Lockseeds and Drivers to use them with.” He placed his Sengoku Driver onto the table and put his Grape Lockseed next to it. “While I have to admit that he was a brilliant scientist and researcher, he was also a rather cunning and manipulative guy, who only really cared about science and his research. He had his own agenda. At least that’s what I think.” Well, it takes one to know one. Mitsuzane added bitterly in his mind.

 

“Wait, you speak in the past tense,” Terui furrowed his eyebrows. “Does that mean-”

 

“He died. From what I heard his body was in a terrible condition when they found it. My brother said he must have fallen off the roof of a building. Or have been thrown off in battle most likely. His mind was resurrected once in the form of data but my brother destroyed the robot or cyborg or whatever vessel it had been placed in.”

 

Philip hummed. “If he was turned into data, then I guess it explains his presence in the Planetary Bookshelves. This is the world of data after all.”

 

“Maybe after his resurrection and destruction his consciousness stayed intact in the data world and that’s why he can manifest in the Planetary Bookshelves instead of becoming a book.” Shotaro hypothesized. “What do you think, partner?”

 

“An astoundingly good theory, considering it is coming from you.” Philip mused. “It would certainly explain why his presence is not strange and why he is not returning to a physical body but always present. I shall look into this matter a little more.”

 

Terui hummed, “He says he is missing data. How could data be missing from the source of all data? That doesn’t make sense.”

 

“Not if it is data that didn’t come from this planet.” Mitsuzane supplied. “The Lockseeds aren’t part of this world. They are part of Helheim. Maybe that’s why.”

 

Philip shifted his focus then, unable to be part of two conversations at the same time.

 

He looked at Ryoma in front of him, who was casually leaning against one of the bookshelves, waiting patiently for Philip to resume his conversation with him. He listened to what Philip relayed of the conversation outside the library, nodding once in a while in understanding until Philip was done. “Well that was Mitsuzane’s theory.”

 

“It sounds plausible. And I am inclined to agree but I can’t say anything without any data to back it up. He’s a sharp kid, though. When he isn’t distracted. Both him and his brother. They understood things easier and faster than other people.” Ryoma mused. “Guess that hasn’t changed. You remind me of them by the way.”

 

“Not a far fetched theory.” Philip hummed and then looked around. “How much of your data is missing? And do you have any idea how to make your dataset complete again?”

 

“I have some basic data still. How to make drivers. How to make some of the Lockseeds. My basic personality and some personal memories. Tell Mitsuzane it is the data he saw when he faced Megahex. But part of me is gone.” Ryoma replied and then crossed his arms. “It might be because of the exposure to Helheim, like he said. Megahex was able to reproduce the Troopers’ Pinecone and the Dragonfruit Lockseeds. While the Dragonfruit Lockseed had a strong connection to Helheim, its only user had never been exposed to Helheim itself. Only its powers. Same for some of the Troopers. So that data might have been the most complete in this database. Everything else had become corrupted by Helheim.”

 

Philip nodded and moved back to the real world again to relay what Ryoma had told him to Mitsuzane. The other promptly rummaged through his bag but then stopped for a moment.

 

“I don’t know if we can trust him.” Mitsuzane looked down. “But as someone who got a second chance without really deserving it, I am in no place to deny him the same.”

 

He continued to go through his bag and pulled a Lockseed out of it. It was a Lemon Lockseed. Not an Energy one but a normal, first generation one. He placed it into the table.

 

When he did, it was promptly snatched away by the Extreme Memory, which had appeared behind Philip without anyone noticing.

 

It hovered above them for a few moments and then a bright flash of light illuminated the room for a moment. When their eyes recovered from the brightness, they found one more person standing in the detective agency with them.

 

Ryoma looked at the Lemon Lockseed now in his hand and raised an eyebrow. “My existence is supported by this. Interesting. I knew it was possible but actually experiencing it is quite something.” It was essentially the same method that had brought back Kudo Kugai, who had continued to exist in a limbo between life and death and had somehow found a way to manifest as someone not quite alive and not dead in the human world with the help of the Zakuro Lockseed. 

 

It was a little ironic, considering Ryoma had looked down on the other and his strange way of existing at that point in time but well, different times and different situations. There were more pressing questions he wanted answers to now. He looked at Mitsuzane. “I wonder how you came across this?”

 

Mitsuzane shrugged. “Nii-san recovered it. I don’t know how he snuck it into my pocket but it must have been during the fight. Maybe he knew he was going to get taken. Don’t ask me why he was carrying it around. I also have no idea why he insisted on keeping it in the first place and where he got it from but I guess it came in handy now.”

 

“Takatora, huh? That’s just like him.” Ryoma chuckled softly. “The way he is. The other question is, did you know the missing data was on this one or was this also pure luck?”

 

“Nii-san knew you kept backups of your data in different places, in case something happened to you or any of the ‘official’ data storages. You also had some videos of yourself doing experiments stored away in your laboratory and other safe places.” Mitsuzane had discovered that during his stint in the ‘dream world’.

 

He continued, “When I heard about you missing some of your data, I figured that one of the main backups you would have certainly made, would be on your personal, old Lockseed because it was something you never left unattended or gave to someone else. Nii-san was probably the only one who knew or remembered that you still had it. It was also one of the reasons why Megahex couldn’t find the data on it to restore with you when he did because it was a backup that was not connected to anything else on this planet. Except for yourself. Same goes for the Energy Lockseed but since that was in use, I didn’t think you would store anything important on it, in case it got damaged in battle.”

 

“That brother of yours. Sometimes he is too damn observant for his own good and sometimes he is the most oblivious person on this planet. Talk about unbalanced.” Ryoma snorted. “I guess I owe him for this. Maybe. And sometimes you are too smart for your own good as well but I think we already had this discussion before, Mitsuzane.”

 

Mitsuzane and Ryoma looked at each other for a few long moments before Mitsuzane looked away first. There was a complicated expression on his face. When he moved, he met Philip’s eyes briefly and then Shotaro’s. The latter’s clearly told him that he would have to do some more explaining later. But that would have to wait until, well, later.

 

“So, you know who might have done this?” He brought things back to the issue at hand.

 

“I have an inkling.” Ryoma nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at writing fight/battle scenes. I apologize.
> 
> I also apologize if Akiko gets a little left out but there are too many other people to focus on ._.

Ryoma walked over to the window and looked outside. “Before things went down in Zawame with the whole Helheim business, a few people voiced interest in my research. They weren’t the usual pathetic losers trying to seize power, though but people who wanted to invest in the development more but maybe nudge it in a different direction as well. To be honest, I was a little interested and I would have looked into it more if things hadn’t happened.” He turned back around to look at the group gathered in the room.

 

“Whoever it was that took Takatora is most likely from an organization that calls itself Foundation X.” Ryoma remarked. “And I can only think of one aim they might have, after everything that you’ve said about this.”

 

“And that would be what?” Mitsuzane asked.

 

“To finish what either Kureshima Amagi or Sonozaki Ryubee started. It would have happened already but I guess some things got in the way.” Ryoma sat down swivelled around on the chair. “He didn’t lack much, you know? The only thing that Takatora was lacking in your father’s and also my own eyes was ambition. He interpreted things differently than he was supposed to. Even you understood it correctly, I might say.”

 

Mitsuzane felt his stomach twist painfully. “Noblesse oblige. The privileged aren’t supposed to help the less fortunate. They’re supposed to rule over them. Is what you’re saying?”

 

“Exactly.” Ryoma nodded. “See? You are the smarter one out of the two of you.”

 

“So what are they going to do to nii-san?”

 

“Rewire his brain, I guess. Or maybe just force things on him. Who knows what kind of power they are putting in whatever they’re up to. But I think there’s only one goal. To finish what other people couldn’t.” Ryoma crossed his arms and sighed. “It would be a sight to see, wouldn’t it? The perfect Kureshima Takatora might be born. While I did contribute to this, I wish I could be there to see it. The perfect Takatora.”

 

“Definitions of perfect greatly vary.” Mitsuzane mumbled.

 

“You wouldn’t understand.” Ryoma shrugged.

 

“And you probably need a few lessons, too. You sound creepy.” Shotaro spoke up, interrupting the conversation between Ryoma and Mitsuzane. “Sorry if you forgot that we were still here but we are in fact still here.”

 

“Foundation X. I can’t say that I am thrilled to hear their name again.” Terui huffed. “I can’t believe they’d dare to come back to Fuuto. After all that went down.”

 

“Do you think they might want to try their crazy stuff again?” Akiko asked.

 

Philip frowned. “It’s true that if they want to tap into the energy of the Gaia Memories, Fuuto would be the ideal place. But would why would they still want the Gaia Impact?”

 

Ryoma looked up at Philip. “Gaia Impact? Ah, so this is where it comes from. Interesting.”

 

“You heard something about it?” Shotaro blinked.

 

“Briefly. I believe Kureshima Amagi was saying something about it at some point while he visited uhm, let’s say my old home, when I was still but a young child. If I remember correctly, the Gaia Impact was one way of how he wanted to overcome the Helheim invasion. Only a chosen few would be able to survive and would change to adapt to the new environment. At least that’s how that started. My drivers were a Plan B. Something he thought might be worth exploring just in case. Is what I think now, after knowing more about the Gaia Impact and what it is.”

 

“Did you just read one of the books?” Shotaro asked.

 

Ryoma chuckled. “Just one? I have kept busy these days. Some books I can access, others I can’t. It also doesn’t take me very long to read and process something.”

 

“He’s like Philip just somehow more evil and creepy.” Akiko whispered to Terui.

 

Shotaro sighed. “What could Foundation X want now? Didn’t they get their asses kicked enough last time around? Who comes running straight back for more?”

 

“Maybe that’s their strategy.” Mitsuzane offered. “You wouldn’t expect them to do that.”

 

“Correct.” Philip agreed. “Nobody would expect the loser to run straight back into the arms of the winner. We were careless. As for their goals...”

 

“They’re known to try to combine different strings of research.” Ryoma picked up the train of thought. “If what Mitsuzane said about them getting Lockseeds from the Black Bodhi Tree is true, they might try and do something with those. And if they are in Fuuto that can only mean one thing. As you said before.”

 

“They want to try combining the power of the Lockseeds and Gaia Memories.” Philip nodded. “Nobody can tell what would come out of that.”

 

“May I see one of those Gaia Memories you speak of?” Ryoma asked. “It might give me some clues.” Shotaro didn’t seem like he wanted to hand his memories over, so Philip pulled out the Luna Memory and handed it to Ryoma.

 

Ryoma looked at the Gaia Memory in his hand, turning it this way and that and eyeing it from up closer. He hummed thoughtfully after a few moments. “It would certainly be compatible with my Driver. That is for sure.” Kazuraba Kouta, too, had been able to use a memory-like key with the Sengoku Driver before and utilized that power. He had data on that. “There is a build in connector in the Sengoku Driver at least. The Genesis Driver does not have one.” He had gotten rid of it. The Genesis Driver hadn’t needed any possible upgrades after all.

 

“You’ve been throwing around Sengoku Driver and Genesis Driver. What’s up with that?” Shotaro asked. “Please remember we don’t know the details.”

 

“There are two types of drivers and two types of Lockseeds.” Ryoma started. “The first generation is called Sengoku Driver. Like the one Mitsuzane showed you. The first generation Lockseeds are used with it to transform into armored riders or to absorb the nutrients in the Helheim Fruit without bad side-effects.”

 

He didn’t want to mention what kind of side-effects just yet. It was unnecessary for the rest of the story at this point.

 

“And then there are the Genesis Drivers and Energy Lockseeds. An upgraded, more powerful version of the first generation Lockseeds. I unfortunately have no sample here to show you. Most of them were destroyed.” By me. Ryoma left that out as well.

 

“Niisan is the only one with a working Genesis Driver and Energy Lockseed right now. The driver was yours when Megahex re-created it for the Dragonfruit Lockseed, so I assume it doesn’t have the Kill Process installed.” Mitsuzane eyed Ryoma.

 

“Takatora using my driver? Ah, I see.” Ryoma chuckled and then turned serious. 

 

“The strength of a Gaia Memory, if I remember correctly, has about the same power as an Overlord. If they were to try and make Takatora, or anyone else for that matter, use one of them, who knows what would happen.” Ryoma frowned. “If my calculations are correct, a Gaia Memory coupled with an Energy Lockseed would result in...nothing nice. It might very well have the potential to completely destroy Takatora.”

 

“Your drivers, are they limited to humans using them?” Terui asked.

 

Ryoma laughed. “You know, that never occurred to me while I developed them. That someone or something not human would ever use them. So no, they’re open for everyone.”

 

“So they might make your brother use a Gaia Memory and then transform using that Genesis Driver. Or the other way around. We can’t stop a Gaia Memory from being used even without a Driver but we could destroy the other one. If there is a way to destroy them?” Shotaro tried to determine a strategy. “Is there, Sengoku Ryoma?”

 

“Who do you think I am? I built those drivers. I can build them again. And I can destroy them just as easily.” Ryoma shrugged. “Of course there is a foolproof way to destroy or at least disable them. I had a Plan B in case someone was smart enough to disable the Kill Process. Not that I thought it would ever happen but it’s better to be prepared.”

 

Shotaro sighed. “Okay. I...no, I’m getting a headache. I need to sort out my thoughts somewhere. Philip, some help if you would?”

 

Philip opened the door to the basement. “Let’s do this elsewhere.”

 

Down in the lair, Philip and Ryoma went about collecting information on the whiteboards - or in Philips case, also any other surface he could write on.

 

When Philip was finished and read Ryoma’s notes, he frowned deeply. “Shotaro, this all sounds more familiar than you would think.”

 

“Does it now?” Shotaro crossed his arms. “Shoot. What did you find out?”

 

“Gaia Memories are said to have been created using materials from an ancient race found on earth. To utilize the memory, you need a connector. A place where the memory is inserted and can be extracted from again. Once inserted they transform the user into what we call a Dopant. A being with powers which aren’t exactly human. The powers depend on the memory used.” Philip reiterated what they knew about Gaia Memories.

 

Ryoma narrowed his eyes as he went over the information on Philip’s side. “So in other words, a Gaia Memory has the ability to modify a living being’s DNA?”

 

Philip nodded. “Yes. Just like the Helheim Fruit, which rewrites the DNA of a living being and turns them into an Invess, a different life-form with superhuman abilities. Dopants are essentially the same. The mind is retained though. Unlike in your case, with the Invess, who lose all traces of humanity in them. Well, almost all of them I guess. There were apparently known cases where individuals would retain their mind after eating a Helheim Fruit.” He closed the book in his hand. “Just like some Dopants have been known to go berserk due to a corruption effect the Gaia Memories have on their users.”

 

He hummed and continued, “The corruption caused by the Gaia Memories does not apply when you use a driver to connect the memory, though. So there’s another parallel. Yours function as a device to safely absorb the Helheim fruit, am I right?”

 

“Yes, that’s what they were originally designed for.” Ryoma nodded. “And to make use of their power. I assume that Gaia Memories used with a driver are also stronger than the ones which connect to the human directly?”

 

“That’s right.” Philip nodded. “Although it also depends on the memory.”

 

“Same with Lockseeds. Some are more potent than others.” Ryoma added.

 

“Then there are Sonozaki Ryubee and Kureshima Amagi.” Philip hummed. “A twin or just an unfaithful husband and thus the same person? Or maybe even a parallel dimension? Things match very well, don’t they?” He drew onto the whiteboard on his side of the room. “Sonozaki Ryubee had two daughters. The older one took care of business for him, the other one was allowed to pursue her career more freely but it ultimately benefits the family and their business as well. She’s also someone who doesn’t always show her true nature.”

 

Mitsuzane looked away at that.

 

“The older sister was cold towards the younger one but somewhere always had the other’s best interest in mind and in the end died...died for her.” Philip swallowed, suddenly feeling his throat going a little dry. Thinking about it was a little, well, difficult.

 

Ryoma looked at Mitsuzane. “That’s exactly like you, isn’t it? You and Takatora.”

 

“It does hit very close to home.” Mitsuzane admitted.

 

Shotaro drew on the whiteboard as well. “I can’t really believe it but it looks like what you said about him being the same person might be right.” He connected some lines. “Look, the timelines you both drew match. Your father had two lives. One in Zawame and one in Fuuto. He would go back and forth between the two frequently under the pretense of having business abroad.”

 

He stepped back and admired his handiwork. “This is just what I’m thinking but I guess your late mother might have handled most of the business on Yggdrasil’s official side for him during that time. Until it went over to your brother upon her early death. In the meantime, things had started to pick up in Fuuto and since the Gaia Impact was his highest priority, he spent more time here and less in Zawame.”

 

“That means-” Mitsuzane stopped himself and looked at Philip. They really were family.

 

“Now, where does Foundation X come in?” Terui asked. “Why here, why now?”

 

Ryoma smiled and launched into another explanation, another theory. “That, my dear Terui, is an interesting question.” He walked back and forth between the whiteboards. “Philip and I were thinking about a couple of possibilities.”

 

“Indeed.” Philip fell into step with Ryoma but towards the opposite direction. They seemed to be moving in synch. It made Shotaro’s eyebrow twitch a little.

 

“Looks like you two really found each other.” His comment went by unnoticed.

 

“The first reason might be because they thought they could stay undetected because they had just suffered a great defeat at our hands here. Nobody would think they’d stay here or well, come back here so soon.” Philip started.

 

“The second reason is probably infrastructure. Fuuto has a great infrastructure. Zawame on the other hand is still in the process of being rebuild after what happened there.” Ryoma added. “Plus, Takatora and Mitsuzane have been on alert about movements of the Black Bodhi Tree, who received funding from Foundation X. So the risk of being discovered in Zawame were a lot higher.”

 

“In addition, they seem to have a lot of investments in Fuuto. We had to dig a little bit for that but we found something.” Philip grinned triumphantly.

 

“How did you- That was fast!” Shotaro blinked.

 

Philip looked at Ryoma. “I guess it’s one of the advantages of his current state of existence. He can switch back and forth between the Planetary Bookshelves and here a lot faster.”

 

“You probably didn’t understand that, so let me put that in simple terms for you. I do not exist here. What you see is merely, let’s say, an avatar. I am but data right now and as such, my ‘real’ existence is in the Planetary Bookshelves. I do not have to pay a lot of attention to what I do in this world. That allows me to work faster.” Ryoma explained.

 

“How very efficient.” Terui commented.

 

Shotaro leaned over and whispered to Mitsuzane, “I don’t like him. I think I understand why you had your doubts about bringing him back.”

 

“There’s more to it but, well, yeah. He isn’t the most liked person around.” Mitsuzane nodded and heaved a soft, almost inaudible sigh. Well, if there was one thing he had learned in his life so far, was to put up with people even if he didn’t like them.

 

“Unfortunately, this is as far as our research can get us.” Philip sighed. “We’ll have to do the rest manually.”

 

Cracking his knuckles, Shotaro placed his fedora onto his head. “Well, I guess that means it’s our turn then. Terui? Let’s go.”

 

“Don’t have to tell me that, Hidari.” Terui got up as well.

 

Akiko sighed. “Today was supposed to be...I didn’t hear about this! Ah, for the love of god!”

 

“I’ll help as well.” Mitsuzane got up but Terui stopped him.

 

“The offer is appreciated but I think you should stay here and help Philip and Sengoku Ryoma. You’re not familiar with Fuuto like we are. And well, you should get some rest as well. You could barely stay up on your own feet earlier.”

 

“I can handle it. Or is it that you do not trust me?” Mitsuzane protested.

 

“Do not ask me questions.” Terui replied curtly and then left with Shotaro in tow.

 

Huffing, Mitsuzane flopped back down onto the sofa. Akiko shot him a sympathetic look.

 

He looked over and watched how Ryoma examined another Gaia Memory with great interest and asked Philip questions once in a while.

 

“Those two really seem to be getting along.” Akiko observed.

 

Shrugging, Mitsuzane commented, “Ryoma’s probably happy he found someone who understands some of the things he says. I think it might be the first time he met someone on about the same intelligence level as himself. Plus, he has almost all the data he ever wanted at his disposal right now. I guess there is no reason for him to not be happy.”

 

Although he had a lingering feeling of unease as to what Ryoma could do with all of that data. The other’s motives were still unclear to him.

 

For some reason he hadn’t been surprised that the other was seemingly offering them his help so easily. There had to be some kind of benefit to him. Whether it was more data or actually Takatora’s wellbeing. Or simply, as Ryoma had alluded to earlier, the desire to witness the birth of a different Takatora. A changed Takatora.

 

Just the thought made Mitsuzane uneasy.

 

They had finally become closer, he and his brother. They had finally come to terms with everything that had happened and were finally on the way to become a real family (again).

 

On that last business trip, both of them had laughed together for the first time in what felt like forever. Or maybe ever. They had done things that normal brothers would do, they had actually had fun without things turning awkward. Mitsuzane didn’t want all of that to become his last memories of Takatora. He wanted to make more of those memories.

 

He liked the way his brother was now.

 

“Mitsuzane?” Akiko looked at him, clearly worried.

 

“Ah,” he snapped out of his thoughts. “I’m sorry. Did you say something, Akiko-san?”

 

“I asked if you were okay, or whether you’re tired. If you want you can get some rest. The sofa is all yours. I doubt Philip and Ryoma will be done any time soon or well, want to sit down here. And Ryu and Shotaro will be out for a while as well.”

 

“I-” Mitsuzane thought about protesting again but then his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I might as well. Thanks for the offer.”

 

He was out like a light before Akiko even came back with a pillow and blanket. She smiled and just put the blanket over him carefully as not to wake Mitsuzane up. “He must have been more tired than he realized.”

 

Ryoma looked over. “Last thing I knew, he and his brother didn’t really get along.” To the point that Mitsuzane had even killed Takatora. Twice? “Something must have happened for him to become this desperate to get him back.” He’d seen that the two had gotten along better during the Megahex incident but this was a whole different level.

 

“Sometimes your family makes you do...things.” Philip didn’t like how vague that statement sounded but he wasn’t going to reveal any more information at this point.

 

“I cannot relate unfortunately. I never had one.” Ryoma admitted.

 

A few hours later, Shotaro was the first to return to the detective agency. And he had news.

 

“Unfortunately there wasn’t anything specific about Foundation X but I got some other interesting pieces of information. I heard from Watcherman and Santa-chan that there have been rumors about people contracting a ‘strange disease’ recently but everyone who had supposedly been infected with it vanished mysteriously. From what people say, it sounded like plants suddenly started to grow out of their bodies.”

 

Mitsuzane and Ryoma looked up. “Helheim plant poisoning.”

 

“But that’s impossible. There shouldn’t be any Invess left.” Mitsuzane frowned. He’d just woken up again and had been groggy until a few seconds ago but now he was wide awake. “Kouta-san took all of them away. There should be no way for them to get here. The gateway is gone. There are no cracks anymore.”

 

“They must be experimenting with the Lockseeds. It should indeed be impossible for Invess to materialize even when the Lockseeds are activated now. Plus, if they are the normal Trooper Lockseeds, they should not be able to call forth Invess in the first place. They are designed to merely absorb the Helheim fruit and turn it into nourishment or to provide the Pinecone Armor to the user.” Ryoma closed his eyes briefly to survey his data. “Something doesn’t add up. They must have modified the Lockseeds.”

 

He made a face. “Somebody is messing with my research. This irks me. Nobody should be allowed to touch that without my permission.”

 

“Arrogant as ever.” Mitsuzane mumbled under his breath. Ah but he had also been a bit like that not too long ago. It made him feel ashamed of himself just to think about it.

 

“So they’re doing experiments and then get rid of the evidence. How has that gone unnoticed until now?” Shotaro wondered.

 

“Don’t ask me questions.” Terui stepped through the door.

 

“I didn’t really ask you in particular!” Shotaro retorted.

 

A frustrated growl could be heard from Terui’s general direction. “I cannot believe the incompetence of some people in this city. Some people who dare call themselves members of the police force. There will be consequences after this.”

 

“I concur that you have news?” Philip raised an eyebrow.

 

“There are records of people getting assaulted or attacked by an unknown perpetrator. All the victims have gone missing afterwards, though. Vanished seemingly without a trace. The only thing they all had in common was that shortly before vanishing, they had visited a clinic or hospital to be treated for injuries. Usually cuts.” Terui reported.

 

Philip hummed. “Well that would match what Shotaro found out.”

 

Ryoma observed, “There’s more.”

 

Terui nodded. “Nobody seems to have noticed before but an ambulance would appear around the area where victims vanished. It was always the same. And it is not registered at any of the hospitals inside of Fuuto.”

 

“You look like you know where it came from, though?” Shotaro crossed his arms.

 

“Foundation X.” Akiko piped up.

 

“No shit, Sherlock.” Shotaro rolled his eyes. “As if it were that easy.”

 

“I was able to track it to a hospital just outside of Fuuto within the jurisdiction of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. However, there was also a research facility associated with that hospital that is partially still in Fuuto. So it is between jurisdictions.” Terui pulled out a map and a few pictures.

 

“Ah, making use of bureaucracy and laziness to hide. How clever.” Ryoma remarked.

 

“I got word that a special investigator from the other police department is currently on this case and I have officially requested for cooperation. I should have it by tomorrow.”

 

Akiko smiled. “Nice work! That’s just like my Ryu!”

 

Terui gave her a fond smile.

 

“It won’t hurt to check out the area before that, though.” Shotaro suggested. “Let’s go and do that now. The darkness will give us an advantage.”

 

“Chief, you hold the fort here.” Terui placed his hands on Akiko’s shoulders. His expression softened a little. “I’ll come back as early as I can.”

 

“Do what you must.” Akiko sighed. “Good luck, everyone.”

 

Ryoma gave them a little wave. “I’ll see you there. I don’t need to get a ride. Quite handy.”

 

Mitsuzane frowned but then shrugged it off. He had to get used to the fact that Ryoma was not ‘real’ and human anymore. He got onto the motorcycle behind Terui, while Philip rode with Shotaro on the other one.

 

Before they could reach their destination, they almost got caught in an explosion. Someone seemed to be setting off a series of explosions around a street lined with cars. And that someone seemed to be headed straight at them.

 

Taking off his helmet, Shotaro tried to make out whoever or whatever it was.

 

“What the hell?”

 

Mitsuzane froze when he saw the armor. “It’s someone using a Driver and Lockseed.”

 

Ryoma appeared next to them. “It indeed seems to be someone using the Trooper Lockseed running amok. But they shouldn’t have the ability to set off explosions like this. The Trooper Lockseeds were made for physical combat.”

 

When the Trooper found his way blocked he stopped and looked at the five figures blocking his way.

 

“Let’s go, Philip.” Shotari put on his belt and lifted the black Joker Memory.

 

“Alright, Shotaro.” Philip lifted his green Cyclone Memory.

 

_Cyclone!_

_Joker!_

 

“Let’s count up your sins.”

 

Terui snapped on his belt as well. “Hen-shin!”

 

_Accel!_

 

Mitsuzane watched as the trio transformed and got caught off-guard when Philip suddenly fell over against him. “What-”

 

Ryoma hummed softly. “Ho~ His consciousness is transformed into data and combines with the detective guy’s. So they’re fighting with the strength of two people. How interesting.”

 

After dragging Philip’s body off to a safe place, Mitsuzane remarked, “Now’s not the time for that.” He pulled out his Lockseed.

 

_Budou! Lock on!_

 

“Henshin.”

 

_Budou Arms! Ryu! Hou! Ha! Ha! Ha!_

 

When faced with W, Accel and Ryugen, the Trooper started to laugh insanely. He closed up his Lockseed and revealed himself to be a user of the Masquerade Memory.

 

“The fun begins now. Kamen Riders.”

 

He opened a latch on the side of the Sengoku Driver and snapped it back on.

 

_Matsubokkori! Lock on!_

 

“Henshin.”

 

_Matsubokkori Arms! Strike in the shadows!_

 

Once he had transformed once again, he pulled out another Memory. He inserted it into a connector on his driver and then mutated into a monster.

 

“That armor and claw, it’s an Invess!” Mitsuzane gasped. “But they’re only on one side. It’s only partially an Invess?”

 

“That would certainly explain the cases of Helheim plant poisoning.” Ryoma narrowed his eyes. “Part Invess and Part - what did you call it - Dopant?”

 

“This seems like it might get troublesome.” Shotaro sighed. “Philip, can you make out which memory he might have used?”

 

“From the looks of it, it might have been Explosion.”

 

“Let’s defeat him and get some answers out of him.” Terui lifted his sword.

 

Ryoma waved at them. “Go for it. I’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines. Please bring back something useful.”

 

W lead the charge then. But not without Shotaro remarking, “That guys is starting to piss me off. How do YOU get along with him without going up the walls, Philip?”

 

“I think he’s a great guy.”

 

“Never mind.”

 

They were able to keep the Invess-Dopant hybrid in check with the three of them. Unfortunately, when W used Maximum Drive, nothing was left of the monster afterwards. It perished in an explosion and only a few shards and fragments of what could have been the Lockseed or Memory were left.

 

Mitsuzane looked down. “The only way to defeat an Invess is to destroy it. I guess that was stronger than the power of the Gaia Memory, which was concentrated in the Memory.”

 

“Shit.” Shotaro swore.

 

Philip frowned deeply.

 

“But I think we have a lead now. The guy, before he used the Lockseed, looked exactly like the ones who attacked us and took my brother.” Mitsuzane pointed out.

 

“Masquerade.” Philip mumbled.

 

When he heard the police sirens in the distance, Shotaro sighed. “Let’s go back to the detective agency for now. We might have blown our cover. I think Terui will have to handle this and we’ll have to see where we are in the morning.”

 

“That might give them enough time to escape.” Mitsuzane protested.

 

“There’s that undercover guy from the Metropolitan Police Department. He’ll hopefully keep us updated. Didn’t blow his cover after all.” Shotaro sat down on his bike. “Damn it.”

 

So they retreated for the night.

 

The next morning, Terui was already drinking coffee with Akiko when Shotaro and Mitsuzane emerged from wherever they had slept the night.

 

Philip and Ryoma were looking at something on the table.

 

They were looking at the fragments of the Memory Terui had recovered from the scene. 

 

“What would you call this?” Terui asked.

 

Both Ryoma and Philip spoke up at the same time, “A Lockseed Memory.”

 

Ryoma raised his eyebrow and then smirked. “As expected.”

 

“It is an attempt to combine the power of the Explosion Memory and a Pinecone Lockseed it looks like.” Philip analyzed. “But it’s not complete. Or at least, not ‘ready’.”

 

“These Lockseed Memories are interesting but inferior to both the original Memories and Lockseeds. They are not able to tap into the whole potential of either of them.” Ryoma made a face and picked up the clear bag to get a closer look. “The balance between Lockseed and Gaia Memory is imperfect. While in use, one will definitely overpower the other and it will make whoever is using it go berserk. This thing amplifies both the power and the corruption in both Gaia Memory and Lockseed instead of isolating one or cancelling it out completely.”

 

He tossed the bag back onto the table. “I should feel a little insulted at what they did to my research. And to be honest, I could do way better than this. Whoever did this is but an amateur. Probably someone who is desperately trying to reverse engineer both but is unable to properly understand anything. If it were me, I could have a Lockseed Memory perfected within the next few days, given the right resources.”

 

Smirking, he looked at Mitsuzane, Terui and Shotaro. “Want me to try?”

 

“Don’t.” Mitsuzane made a face.

 

Ryoma chuckled and then went to talk to Philip - there was a lot of scientific mumbo jumbo so Mitsuzane and Shotaro tuned out very quickly.

 

“He is a genius, I have to give him that but he is one unpleasant fella.” Shotaro grumbled.

 

Mitsuzane sighed. “I know. I guess it’s one of those cases where power or wisdom are simply in the hands of the wrong person.”

 

“Well said.” Shotaro nodded.

 

“And I’m worried that his abilities might find their way into the wrongest of hands still.” Mitsuzane looked around. He felt like they were being watched. He had been unable to shake off that feeling ever since they had returned from fighting the hybrid monster.

 

His suspicions were confirmed when he followed Ryoma outside a little later. The other had gone out under the pretense of wanting to inspect the motorcycles and getting some more data on how Shotaro’s could link up with the larger vehicle in the lair.

 

The other had gone around the corner to talk to a person partially obscured by the shadows. Mitsuzane could only make out their pristine white uniform.

 

He hid himself behind a parked van.

 

“Professor Ryoma. It has come to our attention that you have survived the events in Zawame despite reports saying otherwise. Our offer still stands. With Yggdrasil gone, would you like to join our research facilities? We will give you all the resources you need and anything else you desire. We could use a brain of your calibre on the team. Foundation X always welcomes and rewards geniuses like you.” It was a male voice speaking.

 

Mitsuzane held his breath. Ryoma wasn’t going to betray them, was he? The other didn’t have the best track record regarding things like trust and loyalty after all.

 

Ryoma hummed. “It does sound like a very tempting offer still. I am flattered you would still consider me. Let me hear more about this proposal. Maybe in private?”

 

“Of course, Professor Ryoma. If you would follow me.”

 

Mitsuzane’s eyes widened when they moved towards the van. He rolled underneath it and found somewhere to hold onto and hook his feet into. He hoped the bars would cooperate for the ride. He cursed Ryoma in his mind as the van started moving.


	4. Chapter 4

The van drove to a Foundation X research facility situated somewhere in an industrial park or rather a dilapidated factory area. Mitsuzane could make out rundown buildings from his position. He almost heaved a sigh of relief when the van stopped inside an underground garage, surrounded by many others just like it.

He waited for Ryoma and whoever was with him to leave the van before he lowered himself down and went to follow them, while dodging the security cameras.

It wasn’t rocket science, really. Most parking areas had similar security camera setups. He’d learned that from when he had snuck into Yggdrasil. And he had looked at the old floorplans not too long ago, when he had helped his brother to make plans to rebuild things in Zawame. It came in handy now.

Security also seemed pretty lax at this place.

A sneaking suspicion that this wasn’t the main Foundation X facility crept into his mind. Or maybe that was part of the security plan. Making people think it was easy only to bust out a secret weapon and sure kill last boss before the last door.

No last boss appeared on the way to the boring meeting room Ryoma was led into.

The room overlooked what seemed like a factory where people dressed in white seemed to be working on building something at long conveyor belts or at sterile white tables.

The man who had talked to Ryoma spoke up again then, “Let me get straight to the point, Professor Ryoma. We are missing a lead researcher right now. Dr. Maki, who was one of our best, decided to leave us to head a different project for one of our benefactors and partners, the Kougami Foundation.” He paused an checked something on a tablet. “Unfortunately he passed away during an accident at his new research facility. A tragic loss to the world of science. You Professor Ryoma, stand at the very top now. If you decide to work with us, your research will rule the world. Should you accept this positions, I am sure that President Kougami himself will send you a handmade cake to celebrate.”

“How very thoughtful of him.” Ryoma kept a neutral and pleasant face but inwardly rolled his eyes. The guy sounded incredibly stupid to him already. People who were into cakes seemed extraordinarily special. If this president and that fighting patissier from Zawame were anything to go by. Maybe there was a reason why he’d never particularly enjoyed sweets. Aside from the fact that the desire for something as useless as sweets had probably been scientifically removed from him.

“So what exactly is it that you would like me to do?” Ryoma asked.

“We would like you to focus on enhancing your Lockseed research. Considering the resources for that alone are rare now, we would like you to combine this string of research with one of our others, though. And create something even greater than before. It has the potential to change the distribution of power in this world,” the man answered.

Again, Ryoma tried not to make a face. Warfare. Power. How boring.

How many people had come to him with similar requests before? He had lost count of how many people had tried to pay him behind Takatora’s back to allocate more drivers and Lockseeds to them. How many people had wanted to use his research for their own benefit, to play the old, boring games that boring humans played.

Why had nobody seen that he had absolutely no interest in that?

_“Your research will change humanity. It’ll make us evolve. To a level that nobody has seen before. In order to face this challenge sent by some higher power.”_

Ah, no. There had, once upon a time, been one person.

Ryoma tried to subtly make his way over to the door. “Well, I thank you for your time and offer. Unfortunately I will have to decline it Your research aims and areas are not worth my time, nor do they stimulate me to do any research at all.”

“Well, that is most unfortunate.”

Of course Foundation X was one of those places that didn’t take ‘No’ for an answer and Ryoma found the room swarmed by a bunch of people who had used what the others had called the ‘Masquerade Memory’.

His hand closed around the Lockseed in his pocket.

Before he could move, though, purple jets of light hit the enemies to his right.

_Budou Sparkling!_

“Mitsuzane?” He blinked when Ryugen appeared in front of him.

“I’m glad my fears were unfounded. Maybe.” The other launched another attack and then threw the door open. “Let’s go!”

For some unfathomable reason, Mitsuzane seemed to know where to go. The other covered their back, keeping the enemies off or shooting things to create a distraction or obstacle for their pursuers. Amidst the chaos, they made it out of the building.

“Over there.” Ryoma jerked his head towards a few parked motorcycles. “I trust you know how to ride one of these.”

“Is that a rhetorical question? You’ve seen me ride Lock Vehicles before.”

“Indeed.”

On the motorcycle, they were able to outrun their enemies - for now. Both Mitsuzane and Ryoma knew that there was the possibility of pursuit.

“Nii-san wasn’t at that facility, was he?” Mitsuzane asked while they drove down the road.

Ryoma shrugged. “I don’t think so. It didn’t seem like it was their base of operations. Merely a factory. And not one that made anything interesting.” It hadn’t even been a finished product from the looks of it. Merely parts.

They abandoned the motorcycle when they reached the city.

“I suggest we don’t return to Philip and Shotaro-san immediately. That’s where they think we’ll be headed.” Mitsuzane looked around. “So let’s go for a walk.”

“You don’t seem to cease to surprise me these days.” Ryoma crossed his arms. “Colour me mildly surprised once again.” He walked next to Mitsuzane. “How did you make it in there without them noticing you?”

“Their security is even worse than Yggdrasil’s.” Mitsuzane shrugged.

“Well that is most fortunate then. For you and me, I guess.” Then he mused, “I should tell Takatora about that habit of yours, though. Sneaking into places unnoticed seems to come rather naturally to you.”

“Tell him all you want, once we get out of this. And once we get him out as well.” Mitsuzane huffed and turned to walk down a shopping arcade. There weren’t too many people around.

After walking in silence for a while, he addressed Ryoma again.

“There’s a questions that’s been on my mind for some time. After I helped with the reappraisal of stuff that was connected to Yggdrasil. Which of course included some of your stuff. Mind if I ask?” Mitsuzane looked at Ryoma.

“What question could that be? You’ve made me curious.” Ryoma raised an eyebrow.

Mitsuzane bit his lip and then looked down. “Did you love, Nii-san?”

Ryoma almost stopped in his steps for a moment but was able to keep going.

“I don’t think that’s the right word. I admired him, yes, from the bottom of my heart. I recognized him as someone who was capable of great things. I trusted him even. Even if I wouldn’t trust myself. But I don’t think anything I felt for him would qualify to be called love. That emotion, that very concept was something they probably didn’t equip me with when I was created.” Ryoma replied after a moment.

Then he added with a soft chuckle, “Your father didn’t deem it important. He even thought of it as hindering, from what I heard. Which is why it’s amazing that Takatora turned out the way he did. Or even you.”

“Nii-san changed. He used to be different. There was a time when I didn’t think he was capable of love either.” Mitsuzane pointed out.

“That is true. He started changing right about when we first started testing the Sengoku Drivers and first generation Lockseeds.” There was a flicker of emotion in Ryoma’s eyes there for a moment but it was gone very quickly. “And I remember him being different, yes. Different and maybe a little bit more like I’d have liked him to be.”

More like he’d have liked Takatora to be. Yes.

Ryoma remembered. The name Kureshima Takatora had been familiar to him even before he had met the other in his laboratory that fateful day.

Like most teenagers with ‘important backgrounds’ in Zawame, Ryoma had visited the Yggdrasill Academy of course, after his stay at the orphanage - or well, the research facility. He, along with others, both from the same facility or similar ones across the city, had been put in the special academic program. If they had been put among normal students, they would have run circles around them. What they learned was far more advanced than what the average student would be able to comprehend.

They did however have some ‘normal’ classes with their peers. A sorry excuse to pretend that they were normal, a way to keep them hidden from the public. Officially they were merely ‘extremely gifted’ students, who deserved special treatment.

He’d done his research on the rest of the student body within a day of starting school. Most of the people around him, he didn’t deem important enough and thus they didn’t exist to him. However there had been one individual who’d perked his interest. Kureshima Takatora. He had excelled in all subjects, was the top student of his year despite being younger than most, having jumped several grades due to his excellent results. He was most likely set to become one of the youngest high ranked members of Yggdrasill Corporation in history.

Takatora had crushed all of the people who had so much as dared to accuse him of using his family connections to get that far as well.

He’d demonstrated his power and prowess several times. If somebody had a problem with him, he had no problem with standing up for himself. And to fight. And fight he could. Some students, and staff, had come to call him the Ice Emperor behind his back.

Admittedly, Ryoma had become fascinated by him a little bit then.

Sometimes, when they had had joint classes, Ryoma had watched Takatora. He’d felt drawn to the other for some reason. Some inexplicable reason. It intrigued and frustrated Ryoma all at once. He wouldn’t fully understand this attraction until years later.

It wasn’t until both of them were adults - working for Yggdrasill - that everything fell into place. Ryoma found Takatora in his lab, reading his research papers without his permission. Reading them and understanding them. And that’s when things had finally become clear.

He’d felt drawn to the other because Takatora was the only one who was able to understand Ryoma and truly valued his research. The other was the first person who Ryoma truly felt as being on the same wavelength as him. Someone who really ‘got’ what his research meant and what he was doing. It was an understanding that went beyond the data. 

Ryoma would never forget their first meeting and what happened after that.

_“Were you the one who wrote these documents?”_

_“Why do you want to know?”_

_“They’re brilliant. Your research will change the world. It’ll save this world and humanity. I can feel it. The way how you theorize about turning the fruit of the cursed forest into power instead by channeling it through a driver. I’m sure that’s the way for us to fight Helheim. To evolve as humans in a way to beat this invasion.”_

_Ryoma was stunned to say the least. This guy understood his research, understood Ryoma’s brilliance and acknowledged it. He didn’t call Ryoma creepy or weird._

_“I’m Takatora. I’ve been put in charge of the Counter Helheim Project. I need your brilliance, so will you lend me a hand?”_

_“Takatora? Right, you’re the Kureshima heir.” He’d heard about the other somewhere. He’d put him off as just another spoiled brat but apparently he’d been wrong. And while the elder Kureshima had possessed a kind of curiosity - vicious curiosity - Takatora seemed to possess something else. Something that touched something deep inside of Ryoma._

_“I’m Sengoku Ryoma.” He took the other’s offered hand._

_Weeks passed and one day, during a break, Ryoma found himself out on a rare trip away from the office and the lab with Takatora. The other had insisted on bringing him because according to the other male, Ryoma needed a break to clear his head._

_So they had gone to visit a museum and a dojo. Of course Ryoma had been trained in combat, although he’d never been particularly good at it. He’d been selected at the orphanage for his brains and not his muscles. Although he’d still been taught like everyone else of course. And of course that training hadn’t just applied to them but also to the actual children of the Kureshima household._

_Takatora’s fighting style was elegant and brimming with confidence. It was quite something to look at. Ryoma found himself unable to pry his eyes away._

_When they sat outside afterwards with a cold drink, Takatora brought up work again._

_“You know, I went through your research papers again and thought about taking this a step further. I wanted to ask you for your opinion.” Takatora started. “Your Lockseeds have so much more potential than just being a source of energy and nourishment. Those drivers have way more power and potential, too. Father was already tasking you with something like this, right? About finding a way to evolve humans. A way to fight back instead of merely preparing for what is to come.”_

_Ryoma nodded. “The armored rider project. I actually created a Lockseed capable of doing something like that but it was a failure.” The Pomegranate, Hell Fruit and Apple Lockseeds had been disposed of._

_“I could continue on that track but I’d need more data. More people to gather data from. I can create the Lockseeds and Drivers but how they will function is a different matter. It requires a lot of testing.” And people had died during those tests before._

_“Don’t worry about that. I’ll make sure you will get what you need.” Takatora looked at Ryoma. “This is what humanity needs. What are a few sacrifices compared to the big picture? People should be honored to work for this cause.”_

_Again. How was the other able to understand him so well? Ryoma didn’t know. He didn’t believe in something like fate but he couldn’t explain it otherwise._

_“I’ll see it done. I’ll start working on it when we get back.”_

_He’d been given free reign and Ryoma made use of it. He even got to add a bit of a personal touch to each armored form - a guilty pleasure he happily indulged in. To be honest, he was quite proud of Zangetsu’s design. It was one that had been made for Takatora and Takatora only. Ryoma had worked on it day and night without stopping for too long, as if he had been possessed by some higher power, as if he’d been afraid to lose this train of thought if he so much as looked away. He was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion when he put the finishing touches to it._

_By heaven’s decree. Yes, this was the one who acted with god’s will - for he would become a god. Ryoma couldn’t think of anyone else more deserving of that phrase._

Ryoma didn’t want to admit it but sometimes he missed that feeling. The thrill of helping someone like Takatora evolve and rise up to levels that were beyond normal human beings. Unfortunately he’d never feel that way again. Or anything at all really. He no longer had any feelings, Ryoma wanted to laugh. He was only data now. Data couldn’t feel.

He snapped out of his reverie again and looked at Mitsuzane. “Say, did you ever see the scars on your brother’s body?”

Mitsuzane nodded. “I did when I took care of him at the hospital when he was in a coma.”

“Those were my fault.” Ryoma admitted.

“What?” Mitsuzane’s head jerked up.

“Well, partially. Takatora insisted on testing the Lockseeds himself, you see. But I guess it was my fault for not making them well enough to not hurt him.” Ryoma remembered the failed test, remembered holding Takatora in his arms and fearing for the other’s life.

“I never made anything that malfunctioned after that. Everything that he touched for the trials afterwards was no less than perfect.” Ryoma flexed his fingers. “But by then it had been too late. He had already changed.”

Takatora had seemed strange after that first Lockseed test. The other had started to change right about then, Ryoma noticed now that he was thinking back. It was as if Takatora had suddenly developed two distinct characters but they had blended into each other perfectly, so perfectly it hadn’t occurred to Ryoma until now, that they had been very different.

It was almost like the other had been schizophrenic but in a rather fluid way.

There had been the haughty, arrogant and cold Takatora, the one Ryoma admired. The one who described Beat Riders as mere street rats and trash. The one who was aiming to perfect Ryoma’s research and maybe go beyond what was possible at that time. And then there had been a more ‘human’ warm and weak Takatora underneath. One who showed compassion, one who wanted to save humanity instead of seeking for more.

“I wish I could bring back that Takatora and make him mine again.”

“You’re twisted.” Mitsuzane looked at Ryoma.

The other looked right back. “Is that the pot calling the kettle black, as they say?”

“I guess it takes one to know one.” Mitsuzane looked away again.

Ryoma smiled, a hint of amusement swinging in his voice, covering up some of the interest underneath. “You have changed, Mitsuzane. And yet you haven’t. It’s intriguing. I am missing quite a chunk of data on you. I’d like to make it smaller.”

“I’m not the only one who has changed. Many things happened. Do you want me to tell you about what you’ve missed? What happened after you died? Both times?” The younger male offered. “A lot happened.”

“Well, it’s not like we don’t have time? So tell me.” Ryoma accepted the offer.

And Mitsuzane caught him up on everything that had happened in Zawame - the end of the Helheim invasion, Katsuraba Kota’s transformation, Kumon Kaito’s demise and so on.

“Hm, so in the end it was the Sengoku Driver after all that attained godhood. Or at least opened the path towards it. In the hands of Kazuraba Kouta. Interesting. So Helheim is no more. That throws up a whole bunch of other questions for our current situation but I shall deal with them later.” Ryoma closed his eyes. “And personally I do not feel sorry that that monster met his end as well.”

He was referring to Kaito of course, at whose hands he had lost his life.

“I shall agree with you to disagree on a few things. As usual.” Mitsuzane closed that topic and moved on to a new one. “Where could they have taken nii-san? What do you think? Did you get any ideas from the place we just escaped from?”

“That was most likely their public face. There must be a facility where they’re doing their ‘real’ research.” Ryoma suspected. “Plus, that wasn’t the facility the others were talking about. The one we could not reach last night. And considering the security we faced here compared to yesterday’s Invess-Dopant...”

“I thought so, too. Well, that makes things a little easier, I guess.” And yet harder. They knew that they were coming, so they’d be prepared.

Mitsuzane’s phone rang. “Hello?”

“Mitsuzane? It’s Shotaro. Where are you? Philip said you and Ryoma were somewhere around town? What happened?” Shotaro’s voice came from the other end of the line.

“Long story but it’s alright. We’re pretty sure now that Nii-san is in the place we were trying to scout out yesterday. Or well, maybe he was. Depending on what they did ever since we fought that Invess-Dopant.” Mitsuzane replied.

Shotaro made a noise of acknowledgement and then continued, “Ah, about that. Come back here and we’ll give you an update. Terui has news.”

Mitsuzane looked around. “Foundation X might be watching you. Maybe we should talk somewhere else. I don’t know where we are right now but we’re somewhere in the city.”

“Watched? Well that is no good then. Philip and I will figure something out. I’ll get in touch once we have a plan.” Shotaro hung up on Mitsuzane before he could reply, so Mitsuzane stuffed his phone back into his pocket. He was about to turn back to Ryoma when a car pulled up next to them on the street. It was a bright red and white race-style car. He had seen it before.

“You are-”

“Tomari Shinnosuke. Please get in. I believe we have something to talk about.” The young male behind the steering wheel showed them his police badge.

“Alright.” Mitsuzane figured that this would be safer than anywhere else right now. He walked over to the passenger door. “You need a seat?” He addressed Ryoma.

Ryoma snorted softly. “I shall sit in the back.”

Once they were inside the car, they drove off. Shinnosuke looked at Ryoma via the rearview mirror and then glanced at Mitsuzane next to him briefly. It wasn’t him who spoke up first though but Belt. “One of your companions has a rather interesting ‘presence’, Shinnosuke.”

Raising an eyebrow, Ryoma looked at the belt on the dashboard. “Well, I would say that I am in good company. Am I not?”

“It does appear that way.” Belt moved to ‘face’ Ryoma. “Who might you be?”

“Sengoku Ryoma. It’s ap leasure, Krim Steinbelt.”

Shinnosuke blinked. “You know Belt-san?”

“I’d heard about him and read his research papers. I thought some of his work was very interesting. It was similar to my own research at that time, developing a rider system. But the stats and requirements were different, so I didn’t look into it further,” Ryoma recalled as he crossed his arms. “I’m impressed at how well you were able to digitalize your own consciousness. Calling this a mere A.I. would be an insult.”

Belt hummed. “Sengoku Ryoma. I think I heard about you as well. A prodigy, one of the youngest leading scientists in history.”

“You flatter me.” Ryoma chuckled. “I am now reduced to a similar existence as yourself.”

“It’s not entirely bad.”

“No, not at all.” Ryoma agreed and then looked out of the window. “Police?”

Shinnosuke smiled. “I figured this would be a safe place. Belt-san, please open the driveway to the Drive Pit. We’ll talk there.”

“Okay, Shinnosuke!”

Mitsuzane and Ryoma stepped out of Tridoron once they reached the Drive Pit and looked around. Mitsuzane in wonder, Ryoma in curiosity. He studied the equipment lying around.

“Looks like someone was busy with a big project here before they got interrupted.” He picked up one of the parts. “Isn’t this your kind of thing?” He looked at Belt, mounted onto his mechanical body. “Were you building Roidmudes again?”

“This wasn’t me.” Belt sighed. “Someone else was trying to. Just a single one. A certain one. It wasn an attempt to bring back a dear friend. But more about that later.”

Shinnosuke walked back in after disappearing through a door somewhere. “Your friends should be here soon. Then we can discuss the matters at hand.”

Ryoma frowned at the makeshift lab once more. He had the feeling that this was connected to whatever they were dealing with right now. And he didn’t like it. It added a slightly unknown variable to the mix. Ryoma hated unknowns. He picked up some more notes and parts but then put the parts down again as the door opened to reveal Philip, Shotaro and Terui. Well, he had enough data for now. He’d analyze it later.

“And we meet again.” Shinnosuke looked nervous when Terui entered the office. Despite this being his territory. “I hope you found your way here alright?”

“Don’t ask me questions.” Terui grumbled.

Shinnosuke bowed. “Ah, I apologise.” Then he looked at the group gathered in the Drive Pit in front of him. “Let me get straight to the point then.”


	5. Chapter 5

The freaks from Foundation X had snatched the body after yet another failed trial run outside the Drive Pit. Gou had been able to take the Belt and Bracelet back before his enemies had run off. Luckily, Rina had installed a tracking device in the Roidmude body, so they were able to locate it easily. Sneaking into the Foundation X facility had also been a small challenge but a doable one. He’d snuck into trickier places as a reporter.

And if he had still been a reporter, this would have been one juicy scoop. In his current position, though, it was one giant disaster.

He’d heard about Foundation X before, an organization infamous for investing in questionable research, one that had allegedly tried to take over the world. Officials had always been able to blame it on individuals, claiming they had defied the Foundation and its real purposes and motives. This time, he would make sure that it would be different.

The Foundation had clearly amassed quite a few things that Gou would have rather seen destroyed. There was not just Shocker technology but there were also former Shocker executives among the staff who walked the halls at the facility.

Gou had found out that they were trying to use the Roidmude body instead of a real human for their latest experiments. They were going to restore a Roidmude and put it in there. It would then copy an outstanding human before using a combination of transformations to turn the Roidmude into a supersoldier. And then pitch it against the human experiment they were preparing, to see which one would come out of it as the superior contender.

A whole group of scientists was already working on reverse engineering the Roidmude - preparing for its mass production. Clearly, the opinion on who would come out victorious in the battle royale was rather one-sided. Nobody had faith in the human side.

Just thinking about that kind of thinking made an ugly, hot rage boil up inside of Gou.

He looked around and sent one of the Shift Cars back to the Drive Pit with a message. What had started out as simply a scouting and retrieval mission had turned into something way bigger and Gou knew that he would need help to see it through to the end.

Glancing into one of the labs, he looked at the still Roidmude body on the stretcher.

Chase.

What made him the angriest about this whole stunt was that he had more important things to do than this. He’d been so close to reviving Chase. So very close. Seeing Heart again had proven to him that things were not impossible that the other could be restored. It had given him hope and despair at the same time. He wanted to cling to that hope.

Somewhere inside of him he knew that he was just one step away from reaching his goal. Just one small step. He was so close, oh so very close to bringing the other back. All of his life, his energy, his everything, he had put all of it into this research. And he had finally, finally come this far. Everyone around him had been nothing but supportive. It showed how much they missed the other as well. Or maybe Gou’s incessant whining had gotten to them.

Either way, he was so close, there was no way in hell he would give up now. Or have someone get in his way. Even if that someone was a gigantic evil ass organization with ambitions to rule the world.

A reply from Shinnosuke came back sooner than he had anticipated. When Gou read it, his eyes widened. This was getting more complicated and annoying than he had liked.

“I guess it’s time to unpack the big fireworks then. Will do, Shin-nii.”

Cracking his knuckles, Gou looked around. He had lots to do. Better get on it.

He was about to move on, when he caught sight of someone in one of the labs. His eyes widened. What was she doing here? Hadn’t she just been released from prison?

Gou swallowed and decided to push his other plans back a little bit in order to find out more about his new discovery. His gut was telling him that it was not unrelated to his other task so he could excuse it.

The woman was led into an office room by one of the Foundation X executives. “Ms Nishihori Reiko. Thank you very much for coming today. We understand you have a rather pressing matter and will take care of it immediately. It’s our utmost priority to help the citizens live in peace. And that includes peace of mind.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your help.” Reiko bowed. Then she looked up again, her expression unsure and slightly scared. “You will destroy him, right? He will never return again?” She was worrying the scarf on her lap as she spoke.

“Of course. Leave it to us. We have the technology to deal with leftover Roidmudes and have received authorization in this case. It will be handled discreetly, so none of your information will get out to the public.” The executive nodded.

Reiko heaved a soft sigh. “Good.” Then she pulled a tablet out of her bag.

The sight made Gou freeze. It was too familiar. As if the other and he didn’t have enough in common already. Both of them were children of monsters after all. Children of men whose minds were warped beyond comprehension.

Gou hid himself again when Reiko left but he stayed in his hiding spot because the executive was still in the office.

“Sir, I have confirmed the reception of the consciousness data of Roidmude 005, alias Nishihori Koya. He says he is more than willing to cooperate with us. Yes. Yes, of course. I will bring him down to the labs immediately.”

Cursing inwardly, Gou finally left his hiding spot.

He’d been right. The tablet contained number 005, who had copied Reiko’s father, Nishihori Koya. Gou clenched his fist.

For the past three years, he’d been in touch with Reiko. He’d attended her trial as a witness and also victim. He’d tried to pull her out of her state of self-loathing and misery. After all, he understood too well how it felt to have a parent who had strayed from the right path. And she hadn’t been lucky enough to have family and friends around her who supported her, unlike Gou. So he had felt compelled to help her out.

She had just been released a few weeks ago, wanting to start a new life, a life that would go right this time. With some help from Shinnosuke, Gou had found her a spot in a nurse school and she was helping out at a nursing home to earn some money. Things had looked so well and Gou had felt happy that she had managed to move on.

Until now. Apparently things hadn’t been so happy after all.

One more reason to blow this whole place up. This time for sure, 005 would go down. He’d meet his end just like Gou’s own biological creator (he refused to call the other father) had. Gou would make sure that Reiko - and everyone else - would be able to live happily and in peace again after this. 

“Time for fireworks. And I’ll make them extra special, too.” Gou muttered to himself and positioned the first set of explosives.

He was on his fifth when someone put a hand on his shoulder.

“I see what you’re doing there. May I ask you who authorized you to do this?”

Gou froze.

 

Meanwhile, back at the Drive Pit, a briefing was underway.

“They were able to fly under our radar because their facility is so close to the borderline to Tokyo, actually crossing over it in parts after they added new buildings. So we were trusting Tokyo Metropolitan to keep an eye on them.” Terui sighed, visibly annoyed.

Shotaro crossed his arms and looked at Shinnosuke, “And let me guess, likewise.”

“Kind of.” Shinnosuke looked down. “Well, the people in charge on both sides have been notified and will be punished accordingly. At least that’s what I’ve heard.”

“Enough of the blame game. What are we going to do?” Mitsuzane interrupted. “You said you found my brother? Do you know if he’s okay?”

Shinnosuke looked apologetic. “I don’t know if I can say that he’s okay for sure. The only thing I can tell you is that right now, he’s still alive. But we have to act now. According to the information we received, they’re proceeding with their experiment and the outcome of the experiment is going to be determined by a ‘winner-loser’ kind of thing. Which means, the loser will not survive the final experiment.”

“So that’s what they’re going to use your technology for.” Ryoma rose from one of the office chairs he’d sat down on. “They’re using a Roidmude. And they’re going to have Takatora fight it to determine which one will come out stronger.”

Philip frowned, “A machine might be more adaptable for both the Gaia Memories and Lockseeds. It might also not be vulnerable to the corrupting side-effects. And it might be able to withstand the energy surge, unlike a human. It seems like an overall perfect solution to the problems they might have faced thus far.”

Terui crossed his arms. “It would also be a more lucrative deal for them. Selling something that can be produced. It requires less manpower and bears fewer risks. Machines can be replaced without too much drama. Humans on the other hand might resist.”

“We have to stop that at all costs.” Shinnosuke looked at the group. “We’re moving in as soon as possible.”

Mitsuzane blinked, “How are we going to do that?”

“We have someone inside. He’s going to start a diversion attack and we can use it to break in. We’ll only have this one shot, though.” Shinnosuke explained and Belt projected the building layout and floor plans for everyone to see. “From what we know, Kureshima-san is being kept down here, along with the Roidmude body. It appears to be their main laboratory. They have a small security force over here. We do not know whether they have been equipped with modified Gaia memories or not, so that will be our biggest problem.”

Shotaro looked at the images. “The diversion would lure them out here, I assume? A narrow area where we can attack them easily and one by one.”

“Yeah. That’s the idea. While they’re distracted, someone can sneak past them.” Shinnosuke nodded. “In total we’ll have five Kamen Riders.”

Ryoma mused, “You should send in Mitsuzane here. He has a talent for sneaking into places unnoticed. Especially places that belong to big corporation and foundations and contain labs.” He smiled when Mitsuzane shot him a dirty look.

Terui nodded. “Then that’s set. We will get rid of the guards.”

“I’ll provide backup for Kureshima-kun then,” Shinnosuke suggested. “Better be safe.”

While the others went over a more detailed battle strategy, Ryoma zoned out. He was going over other data. It irked him that he couldn’t access all data on Roidmudes - maybe some had been destroyed for good or Steinbelt was guarding it too well - but he made do. It gave him a good idea of what they would be facing.

The others might think that they plan was foolproof but Ryoma thought it wouldn’t hurt to have a Plan B, just in case. It was always good to have a Plan B.

Once everything seemed clear, it was decided that all of them would spend the night at a hotel, in case someone was still watching the Detective Agency. Plus, they would be able to move out easier that way. Ryoma had to applaud the fact that the plan was to attack in broad daylight. Usually people wouldn’t expect that. Usually.

It had a little bit of a shinsengumi feel to him - announcing boldly to the enemy who was attacking them and then proceeding to kick their ass. Why yes, he liked Japanese history.

“Doesn’t it frustrate you that you can’t be part of this more?” Mitsuzane looked at Ryoma. The two of them were sharing a room with Shotaro and Philip, who were using the bathroom right now. Mitsuzane was already ready for bed but was sitting on his and looking out of the window at the bright lights of the city in the distance. He looked old before his time and he was, having seen and experience far more than most others his age.

“Me? Remember who you’re talking to, Mitsuzane.” Ryoma laughed, visibly amused by not only the other’s words but also the thoughts that must have led to them. “This is perfect for me. I get to quietly observe what is going on and gather data on all of you and I don’t even need to watch out because I cannot be killed. I couldn’t ask for more.”

Mitsuzane turned away. “I should have known.”

“Yes, you should have.” Ryoma agreed.

“Good night.” Mitsuzane ended the conversation then and curled up on his side before closing his eyes. His posture looked slightly stiff but relaxed a little bit after a while as his breath evened out. Ryoma watched over him before he realized what he was doing and turned away with a soft snort.

It was as if he had wanted to make sure that the other got enough rest. In someone else’s stead. As if he’d known that this certain someone would have appreciated that.

“It’s not a good idea to trust me. Especially with your brother. It’s gone wrong before,” Ryoma muttered, addressing someone who was not around to hear his words and then withdrew to the Planetary Bookshelves for the night. He would do some more reading until morning - it was nice not to need any sleep, or food or anything else that normal humans did. He got so much more done like this.

And it didn’t even screw with his sense of time because that had always been skewed anyway. Ryoma didn’t think he’d ever been on the same daily rhythm as a ‘normal’ person.

Philip came to get him when it was time for them to leave and set their plan into motion.

Ryoma found himself in what looked like a garage. He caught the tail end of what sounded like Terui bidding his wife and daughter farewell - and yes, he’d try to come home tonight. Not too far from him, Shinnosuke seemed to be doing the same thing. Philip, Shotaro and Mitsuzane didn’t have any loved ones to call it seemed.

Well, the the former pair’s case, their loved one was right next to them, so there was no problem there. Ryoma smirked in amusement when Shotaro seemed to blush a little bit at Ryoma’s knowing glance. Those two thought they were subtle and stealthy but they hadn’t been able to fool Ryoma.

“Are you prepared for the worst, Mitsuzane?” Ryoma addressed the male to his right.

Mitsuzane closed his eyes. “I think I’ve sunk down pretty low in my life already. So I think I might have already seen the worst.” He hated to be reminded of what happened but he couldn’t deny that it was a part of him.

When he opened his eyes again he found Ryoma giving him a look he couldn’t quite read. He decided not to dwell on it.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

_Cyclone_

_Joker_

_Accel_

_Budo - Lock on!_

_Start your engine!_

“Henshin!”

They dispersed around the building according to the plan and waited for the promised time to roll around. Mitsuzane wondered whether or not he should have brought a watch - he jokingly commented on how Ryoma should include a timer function with the next Lockseed upgrade or something - until a series of explosions went off.

After a few moments, another set of explosions went off and Ryoma idly mused that ‘heroes of justice’ were using rather questionable methods here but well, he wasn’t going to complain about ‘whatever works’.

Mitsuzane and Shinnosuke - in their Ryugen and Drive gear respectively - rushed inside the building in the ensuing chaos and made their way downstairs swiftly. They could hear the sounds of fighting from somewhere above them where W and Accel must have engaged some of the security forces.

Everything was going according to plan.

Shinnosuke stopped. According to the plan, they would find Kureshima Takatora in the room just up ahead. Mitsuzane was already on his way there, not stopping, not looking back.

“What’s wrong, Shinnosuke?” Belt asked.

“Everything is going too smoothly.” Shinnosuke looked around. “It’s suspicious. I also haven’t heard any of Mach’s attacks upstairs.”

“That’s true.” Belt hummed thoughtfully. “We should stop Mitsuzane-kun!”

“Damn it, he’s running right into their trap!” Shinnosuke was about to run after the Ryugen armor clad male but a door next to him opened and someone pulled him inside before he could move to go anywhere.

A few doors down, Mitsuzane had resorted to just shooting the security lock and in true ‘this security sucks’ fashion, it had resulted in the heavy doors opening for him.

He went inside cautiously, looking around for possible attackers. His gut clenched uncomfortably when he found the room seemingly empty. Something wasn’t right here.

It didn’t help that the setup of the room brought back more unpleasant memories. The operating table and all the machines and equipment reminded him of the hospital where he and Ryoma had taken Mai after she had been revealed to carry the Fruit of Knowledge.

Hearing movement behind him and detecting a presence there, Mitsuzane whirled around. Just in time. Mitsuzane blocked the attack and spun around, reflexes quick as ever, ready to shoot whoever was there but he froze mid-movement and almost dropped his weapon.

The armor on the other person disappeared but the saber remained in the other’s hand. Its sharp tip staying trained on Ryugen’s - or rather Mitsuzane’s - throat. “I was waiting for you. I knew you would come, Mitsuzane.”

“Nii-san!” Mitsuzane’s initial relief at seeing the other alive made way for an array of different emotions, each accompanied by a question. Why had the other attacked him? Why was Takatora still pointing his saber at him?

Mitsuzane couldn’t move. He just looked at his brother in horror. If Takatora had been different back then, back when Mitsuzane had faced off with him, would it have ended like this? He took a step back. He could see himself in the other, too. The Takatora in front of him. The Zangetsu Shin in front of him. The two images blurred together.

Was this what Ryoma had meant earlier by asking him whether or not he was prepared for the worst? Mitsuzane had to admit that something like this had not crossed his mind, even though it should have.

There had been a chance that Foundation X had somehow messed with his brother.

“Nii-san,” he tried to will his body to move but found that he couldn’t.

Takatora smirked at him, eyes dark and expressionless and brought the Mousou Saber up, ready to strike. “Goodbye, Mitsuzane.”

He closed his eyes when Takatora’s weapon came down.

Maybe this was his punishment. Maybe this is what he deserved, Mitsuzane thought.


	6. Chapter 6

Shinnosuke had his saber ready to fight but stopped when he saw who had pulled him aside. “Gou?” then he blinked at the second person. It was a familiar face. One he hadn’t expected to see. He de-transformed before he greeted the other with a short - slightly stiff - salute. “Special Investigations Officer Gotou-san?!”

Goto inclined his head in a court, short greeting. “It came to my attention that money from Kougami was being used in ways it should not have been used. So I came to investigate. I shall cooperate with your plan of closing down this facility prematurely. Shijima and I have taken some measures to ensure the smooth proceeding of this mission. One of them was to locate Kureshima Takatora. He had been moved from his original location. A measure taken in case an attack like this were to occur. They were waiting for you.”

“You make it sound fancy.” Gou snorted in amusement. Then he blinked and looked behind Shinnosuke. “Wait, who is that and how’d that guy get in and where the hell did he come from? He wasn’t here just a second ago!” He pointed at Ryoma, who was poking the person lying on a stretcher inside the room.

“It’s a long story. I think.” Shinnosuke sounded sheepish.

“Well, long stories will have to wait, I guess. We gotta go and join the other guys. You get him out of here, Shin-nii.” Gou put on his belt and readied his Shiftbike. “I’ll see you later.”

“Take care, Gou. Kiriko expects to see you for dinner again soon.” Shinnosuke smiled at his brother in law. “So don’t make her wait too long. Eiji wants to see his uncle, too.”

“You make me feel old.” Gou snorted. “I promise I’ll be careful. I am not going to waste this life. Not after Chase went through all that trouble to save it.”

Shinnosuke patted Gou on the shoulder and then the two got ready to transform.

But Gou stopped. “Wait. It might be better to tell you more about what I found out. I did send a message about them obtaining a Roidmude Core, right? I’d initially thought it was 005 but it’s not quite him. His core was warped somehow. There are lots of bits and pieces put together. It’s like what I heard about that renegade Roidmude scrap-pile that Heart and crew fought with along with Gen.”

“Could it be that it survived the battle with Heart somehow? Just as a core. Or whatever was left of it.” Shinnosuke hummed. “That doesn’t sound good. Who knows what it might be able to do if upgraded with some kind of Foundation X technology. We better get into top gear and solve this at full throttle.”

“Whatever you say, Shin-nii.” Gou chuckled.

Goto merely raised an eyebrow and got ready to transform.

 

Having no interest in smalltalk, Ryoma had made his way into the room where he had seen a familiar figure on a stretcher. Efficient as always, Ryoma did a quick check. Physically Takatora seemed unharmed. Exhausted maybe but nothing else. At least nothing that couldn’t be fixed easily. A few bruises where he’d been restrained or subjected to tests were the only physical signs of capture. He couldn’t gauge the other’s mental state, though. Not until the other regained consciousness.

Which seemed to be imminent judging from the other’s movements.

“Yo, Takatora. I do not like what I am seeing here. Only I should be allowed to involve you in any experiments and no one else.” Ryoma didn’t want to admit it but there was a brief feeling of relief when he saw Takatora opening his eyes. He also liked the way those dark eyes widened with recognition only a second later.

Takatora pushed himself up into a seating position - he faltered once, moving too quickly probably hadn’t been a smart idea in his state but he managed on the second try - and rubbed his wrists where the restraints had kept him down. “Ryoma? How-”

“Explanations will have to wait until later. Just two things, no, I am not a robot again and no you haven’t died and didn’t get transported into the afterlife to meet me. This is reality still. The world of the living. And speaking of living, we need to get out of here first. Preferably with the right people still alive.” He looked around. “And I’m afraid that little brother of yours might be having a little bit of trouble with that right now.”

The emotions Ryoma could see in Takatora’s eyes upon hearing his words confirmed to him that the other’s mental state also seemed to be fine. Good.

“Mitsuzane, where is he?”

“My best guess is to follow those guys over there.” Ryoma jerked a thumb at Drive, Mach and Birth. “They know what’s up.”

“Armored Riders? Wait, I’ve seen one of them before,” Takatora frowned. His head was still swimming a little bit, his thoughts were half coherent, half hazy. Then he looked at Ryoma. “And you not transforming means you probably can’t?”

“Quick, aren’t you.” Ryoma chuckled. “Like I said, explanations will have to wait until later.”

At Machs’ signal, they moved out of the room and down the hall, where sounds of fighting could be heard. Mach and Birth made their way upstairs, while Drive, followed by Takatora and Ryoma made their way to where Mitsuzane had gone earlier.

Shinnosuke stopped at the door, wanting to enter carefully but Takatora pushed past him.

Ryoma laughed at Shinnosuke’s exasperated sigh. “Get used to it. It runs in the family, the habit of rushing towards one’s doom way too fast. I tell you. One worse than the other.”

 

One level above them, everyone was already engaged in battle. Shotaro looked around and he would have frowned unhappily in his untransformed form. “Philip, from what I can see, they had more Gaia Memories left over than we thought.”

Philip hummed thoughtfully, “I underestimated the dispersion of their stash. As did Terui.” Not too far from them, Accel was plowing through the enemy lines. “Heads will roll.”

“As long as it’s not mine,” Shotaro snorted and blocked an attack with the shield. “For now let’s focus on this. You said Ryoma would tell you once they’re done?”

“Yeah.”

Two of the enemies went flying when some kind of projectile hit them. From the other side of the building, sounds of battles could be heard as well. More people had joined the fray?

“Who are you?” Shotaro asked.

“A Kamen Rider?” Philip took in the other’s appearance.

“Ah, hello. I figured you’d be the good guys. Am I right? I was just going to give a friend in here a hand because he said some more firepower might not hurt and I was around anyway. The name’s Date Akira.” Neo-Birth gave W a mock salute.

Shotaro blocked an attack. “Well, we’re not going to say no to some help.”

“Aye sir!” Date went off and tackled some of the Masquerade Dopants to the ground, before proceeding to kick the living daylights out of them.

Philip chuckled. “An interesting person.”

“Another strange guy.” Shotaro sighed and then focused on the fight again. Suddenly, there was a bigger explosion and a group of Invess-Dopants appeared. “More failed experiments? They were keeping them here?”

“They knew we were coming,” Philip suspected. “They didn’t know when but they were prepared for it to happen eventually.”

Shotaro cracked his knuckles - their knuckles, “Well, no matter what, we will make it through somehow. Together.” He let his mind touch Philip’s briefly, something he had figured out somewhere along the way after they had first transformed into W Extreme.

“Shotaro,” Philip returned the caress. “Yeah.”

“As long as we’re together, we can do this.” Shotaro raised the sword. “Let’s go.”

 

Down in the basement, Mitsuzane couldn’t move anymore. His body had frozen in terror. He just looked at his brother in horror and this thoughts were rapidly spiraling down memory lane. If Takatora had been different back then, back when Mitsuzane had faced off with him, would it have ended like this? If Takatora had been the perfect son their father had wanted him to be. He took a step back, a reflex more than a conscious movement. He could see himself in the other, too. The Takatora in front of him. The Zangetsu Shin in front of him.

He closed his eyes when the other’s weapon came down but it never hit him. It hit the operating table in the room instead, splitting it in half.

Someone had pulled him out of harm’s way, was holding him protectively still.

There was warmth and familiarity in the person’s touch and Mitsuzane’s hands jerked up to grab fistfuls of a black suit jacket. His mind was still all over the place, still confused and not quite caught up but his heart knew better. He was safe here.

“Don’t you dare lay a finger on him.” To say that Takatora was angry would have been an understatement. He was livid, furious. “I will destroy you.” Or even murderous.

Ryoma added helpfully, “He will. He has experience in destroying robot bodies. Trust me.”

“Nii-san,” Mitsuzane’s eyes were wide and he had gone pale. His hands were also trembling ever so slightly. All things that did not go unnoticed by Takatora.

“Mitsuzane,” his voice was soft when he spoke now. “I’m sorry.”

Unable to form words, Mitsuzane just shook his head vehemently. His brother had nothing to apologize for. This wasn’t Takatora’s fault.

Feeling his strength leaving him, Mitsuzane leaned against the other’s shoulder. He still had many things to learn. Many things to reflect on. Mitsuzane thought that he had been able to come to terms with things, that he had been able to overcome his past but he still had a long way to go. Over his brother’s shoulder, his eyes met Ryoma’s briefly.

The other had been right. As usual.

“Should have listened to you.”

Smirking amusedly, Ryoma shook his head. “You know that can go both ways.” He wasn’t a person to be trusted. He knew that better than anyone else.

“You will all die here.” Their attention was drawn back towards the other person in the room. The Takatora who had tried to attack Mitsuzane laughed evilly and then transformed into Zangetsu first before morphing into Zangetsu Shin. Ryoma frowned. “He’s not using the actual driver and Lockseed. He’s only making use of the copy ability the Roidmudes possess. That Zangetsu is merely what the Roidmude recreated from Takatora’s memories. It’s shifting shapes.” He made a disgusted face. “How dare you mock my research like that.”

Takatora rose to his feet again, gently maneuvering Mitsuzane so that the other stood behind him. “Don’t worry, Ryoma. I’ll send that thing to the scrapyard.”

“Ah, Kureshima-san you shouldn’t,” Shinnosuke tried to stop the other but Takatora was already holding his hand out towards Ryoma, who handed him a driver and Lockseed. “Eh, when and how did you-”

Ryoma smiled. “They were calling out to me. I knew where to find them. I checked for modifications but I guess they didn’t dare to do anything because these are the only specimen they have and well, the only functional ones that are left.” He looked at Takatora. “They’re in perfect condition. So go for it.”

_Melon Energy - Lock On - Soda_

“Henshin.”

Takatora, clad in his armor now, stepped forward. “Step aside, Red Warrior. I will handle this. It’s personal.” The two Zangetsu Shins clashed and Takatora pushed the Roidmude one out of the room and into the hallway, away from the others.

“Can you fight?” Ryoma asked Mitsuzane. “Or will you just be a liability?”

Pulling out his Lockseed again, Mitsuzane took a deep breath and released it. “I won’t be a liability. I can do this. I have to do this.”

“Well then.” Ryoma nodded.

_Budo - Lock On_

“Henshin.”

The Roidmude-Rider had apparently called down reinforcements. Drive and Ryugen found their way towards Zangetsu blocked by some of the Dopant-Invess hybrids. 

Mitsuzane wondered whether the Black Bodhi Tree still possessed more Lockseeds or if this had been their last stash. If not, he and his brother would still have a lot of work cut out for them back in their hometown. Either way, they’d have to get to the bottom of that sect at one point or things would never stop. Even if their Lockseeds were gone, there was no telling what they would do with funding received from Foundation X in exchange.

Those were things they’d have to deal with later. Now they just had to deal with what was ahead of them. They wouldn’t have to worry about the Black Bodhi Tree or anything anymore if they were pushing daisies from six feet under after all.

The fight eventually made it upstairs, close to the exit, where the others were fighting as well. Once the Roidmude Zangetsu was there, the forces of Foundation X started to regroup. The Kamen Riders did the same. A tense silence settled between them. Nobody dared to move. Both sides were waiting for the other to attack.

Shinnosuke, now in his Type Tridoron armor, was off on one side with Mach and Accel. He looked at his brother in law. He voiced some of the thoughts that had been on his mind for a while. “Gou, we might have to destroy the Roidmude body.”

Gou’s shoulders slumped a little bit in resignation but the other straightened out again almost immediately. “I know. If there’s a way around it, take it but if there’s none, so be it. I,” Gou looked down and clenched his fist. “I wouldn’t want him to have to live in something that was defiled by the likes of 005 anyway. I’ll just have to start anew. I won’t give up, however long it takes. I already got this far. I won’t give up!”

Nodding, Shinnosuke gave the other a pat on the shoulder and then focused on what was going on in front of them again.

Suddenly, there were noises from the back of the enemy forces. It looked like the Roidmude-Rider was attacking his own men. He flitted back and forth incredibly fast, almost like some kind of insect. He then sucked something out of the Foundation X soldiers and devoured it. One after another collapsed onto the floor.

“What is he doing? Why would he-” Date started.

“It looks like Data.” Gou observed.

Philip gasped. “He’s turning them into data and then absorbs the data. Doing that will change him, though. There is no telling what that kind of data might do with him.”

Just as Philip had feared, the Roidmude Zangetsu shifted shapes with a sickening sound. He now resembled a Roidmude, which had reached a higher state, more than an armored rider. It still sported some parts of course but there were also bits and pieces of Roidmude body and Roidmude armor as well as random other parts - presumably from the people it had absorbed. It was like a horror themed patchwork.

“Now it’s looking like a huge pile of garbage.” Gou and Date said at the same time.

They looked at each other briefly and gave respective nods of acknowledgement.

“No matter what it is. We need to get rid of it.” Goto loaded his weapon.

Terui nodded. “Agreed.” He glanced to his side. “Hidari, Philip, you guys lead the charge. Take those three with you.” He indicated Drive, Mach and Zangetsu. “The rest of us will stay here. We’ll take care of your back. Try and get through to that thing and destroy it.”

Goto looked behind them. “There are reinforcements from the Metropolitan and Fuuto Police Force waiting outside but considering the situation, I told them to stay back for now. They would be too vulnerable. We can’t risk getting them involved while that thing is out and about. They can take care of the smallfry if any try to escape.”

Upon sensing the attack coming, the first line of the enemy monsters and foot soldiers moved forward and the fighting resumed.

Philip and Shotaro tried to engage the Roidmude but to no avail. It would evade their attacks and then retaliate. It made it very hard for them to find an opening or regroup long enough to plan another attack.

“He’s too damn fast.” Gou cursed.

Takatora tried to analyze the situation calmly. “If we want to land a critical hit he needs to stay still. And unless we manage to hit him where it hurts, he might restore himself again. We need to find a way to stop him for long enough.”

Philip frowned but then voiced his observations and a plan. “The only time when he stops for an extended period of time is when he tries to absorb the mind of someone. You saw it earlier when he absorbed the minds of the non-Dopant soldiers. His stranglehold goes both ways, it keeps his target still but himself as well. Our only chance to strike would be before he manages to digitize the target’s mind and devour it.”

“Sounds pretty daring. Not that something like that would stop us.” Shotaro mused. “I guess it’s up to us to bait him? Maybe having two minds to choose from will make him waste some more valuable time.”

“I knew you wouldn’t let me down, partner.” Philip chuckled. “Let’s try it.” He looked at Takatora. “Kureshima-san, target him and look for the right timing. Someone will shield you, so you can focus.”

“I’ll do that.” Gou volunteered.

“Okay. Then Tomari-san, Shotaro and me will try and stop him and create an opening.”

 

He had brought this upon himself. Initially Gou had volunteered to shield Takatora because he had noticed the Mach system had notified him of substantial damage and the energy levels dropping. Some of the monsters had landed some hits earlier. Gou had underestimated them a little bit. Or maybe their numbers.

It didn’t help that the Roidmude was attacking Takatora instead of going for Shinnosuke or the W duo. Maybe it was a homing instinct? It wanted to destroy the original. Or it wanted to devour the original to get rid of it. Gou blocked another attack and blinked.

Or was it attacking Takatora? Gou suddenly felt his blood run cold.

No. It wasn’t attacking the other. It was attacking him. On purpose.

Gou tried to push himself up again when the next attack from the Roidmude send him flying and crashing into a wall. He wanted to laugh. He was so screwed. His armor had taken too much damage and the system was giving him all kinds of warnings. It wouldn’t take too long until his transformation would dissolve. And on top of that, he had put himself right into the Roidmude’s reach. And it was moving in for the kill. There was an odd sense of deja-vu. Him on the floor, waiting for his demise at the hands of his despicable father.

“I’m sorry Chase. I fucked things up. Sorry for wasting the life you tried to protect.”

The Chaser armor dissolved as the systems shut down. He could hear the triumphant cackle of the Roidmude. “Just as planned.” It reached a clawed hand out, the tips starting to glow.

“Gou! No!” Somebody pushed Gou aside and was caught in 005’s consciousness extraction beam instead.

Philip cursed softly they were too late. “Damn it, I didn’t consider that he might not be able to penetrate a Kamen Rider’s armor with his ability. He purposely wanted to find a way around our armors or to draw out unguarded people.”


	7. Chapter 7

Gou’s eyes widened when he recognized the person shielding him. His sense of deja-vu was going into overdrive. “Kanno, you fucking idiot, why did you do that? Get out of the damn way! What are you even doing here?” He grabbed the other’s shirt but he was not able to control his movements well enough to drag the other down.

“I finally made friends. I finally found a place where I wanted to be. I won’t let anyone take all that away from me again. They’re precious.” Kanno looked down at Gou and smiled. “It’s alright like this. I have no regrets. As a police officer, this is my duty. And as your friend, this is what I want.” His consciousness was slowly pried from his body.

“Fuck it, Chase really did copy you, didn’t he?” Gou felt tears burning in his eyes as he desperately tried to pull Kanno out of harm’s way. “You’re both huge idiots! The biggest idiots on this planet! Why would you go that far for someone like me?” He didn’t deserve this. He hadn’t deserved Chase, he certainly did not deserve yet another chance given to him by a dear friend. “Don’t you dare to die on- Oi! No! Kanno! Keep your eyes open! Oi!”

“Do it now. While he’s immobile.” Kanno was rapidly losing his consciousness as it was being pulled out of him. “I can’t fight back much longer.” He looked over his shoulder. “Now, Tomari-san! It’s your chance to attack!”

“We’ll throw everything we have at him. Belt-san, let’s go!”

“Okay, Shinnosuke!”

“Shotaro.”

“I know, partner. Let’s do this.”

_Full Throttle - Tri Drop!_

_Xtreme - Maximum Drive!_

“Kanno!” Gou caught the other when the consciousness extraction beam was cut off as the Roidmude was hit by simultaneous attacks from several sides. He shook the other carefully but there was no reaction. Kanno’s body was limp and lifeless in his arms. “Oi! Don’t do this to me, you idiot! Wake up! Oi!”

The Mach-Chaser Shiftcar made its way out of Gou’s pocket and came to rest on Kanno’s body. A soft purple glow emanated from it. The light grew stronger and weaker, a bit like a pulse, a heartbeat. After a few moments, a pair of brown eyes opened again.

“Kan-”

“Gou.” The flat, emotionless tone of voice was familiar. Very familiar. The brown eyes flashed purple and came to rest on Gou.

“It can’t be. Chase?”

“There is no time, Gou. There is an enemy who needs to be taken care of. And if we can defeat him, maybe we can still save him.”

“How-”

“Explanations later.” Chase placed the Mach-Chaser Shiftcar into Gou’s palm. “Hit him with everything you’ve got. That we’ve got.”

Gou got a grip on himself and nodded. “You bet I will. Henshin.”

_Kamen Rider Mach-Chaser!_

Four attacks hit the Roidmude in two waves. Drive and W shattered the armor and then the energy arrow of Zangetsu followed by Mach-Chaser’s Full Throttle shattered its core. The resulting explosion sent a strong pressure wave over the battlefield, sending some of them flying and crashing into walls or enemies and friends alike.

When the dust cleared again, people started to get back up onto their feet.

“Belt-san, how is it?” Shinnosuke looked around, the sensors of Drive scanning the area for any leftover Roidmude cores as he did. “Anything?”

“No, I cannot pick up anything at all. I have already scanned the area twice.” Belt replied.

Takatora undid his transformation and sunk down, his back against the wall. Having been in captivity was taking its toll on him it seemed. One of the Births went over and Date appeared from behind the armor when he undid his transformation. He crouched down and checked Takatora quickly. “You should take it easy for a while, sir. Your body will be thankful for it. Maybe also visit a proper hospital to get checked. But don’t worry, I cannot detect anything serious. And I know what I’m talking about.”

“Thank you.” Takatora acknowledged the other. “I’ll see what can be done.”

“I’ll make sure he goes to a hospital.” Mitsuzane appeared by his brother’s side. “Nii-san.”

“I’m sorry, Mitsuzane.”

“What are you sorry for? None of this was your fault. Stop trying to take all the blame for everything for a change, will you?” He resisted the urge to punch his brother and just grabbed Takatora’s shoulder tightly. “I’m just glad,” his voice failed him, he tried again. “I’m just glad you’re okay. You’re alive.”

Takatora pulled Mitsuzane into a one-armed hug. He didn’t say anything else.

Date gave the two some space and looked over to where Goto was supervising the backup troops as they took care of whatever was left of Foundation X’s security troops. Some of the Kamen Rirders took care of those who were not meant for humans to handle. It seemed like things were going well on that end. So he moved on to people who might need his help more. Like the two guys bickering by the wall.

“Okay, Chase, we’re done now, you owe me explanations.” Gou looked at the other, still dressed in Kanno’s suit. “Tell me everything. Now.”

“Gou, this can wait until we’re somewhere else. Somewhere safer and less open.” Chase replied flatly. “Shinnosuke is still engaged in battle and-”

Gou grabbed the other’s shoulders. “No. I need to know now!”

“Excuse me, let me just check you guys for injuries. I see some blood on you and as a doctor, I can’t just ignore that.” Date barged in then. He gave Chase a once-over first and then went on to Gou. “Hm, some scratches, some of these will bruise but overall nothing too bad. I guess I can give you guys a pass.”

Shinnosuke jogged over to them. “Are you two okay?”

“No. I need answers now. Now! You hear that, Chase?” Gou glared.

“Chase?!” Shinnosuke blinked and then looked at the suit-clad male in front of Gou. “Eh?”

Goto chose that moment to approach the group as well. “Tomari, Shijima, we’re going back to headquarters for a debriefing. There are probably some questions that need answering.”

“Hell yes, there are!” Gou was fuming now. It got even worse when Chase just nodded and wordlessly followed Goto. “You stupid, stupid, stupid…” He couldn’t find the right name to call the other. Which added to his frustration.

To say that the Drive Pit was rather crowded would have been an understatement. In order to make space, Belt lowered the Tridoron into the underground parking position. Aside from Goto, Date, Shoutaro, Philip, Terui, Mitsuzane, Takatora, Ryoma, Gou, Chase and Shinnosuke, Gen, Rinna and Kyu had also joined the debriefing. Rinna, Kyu, Belt and Ryoma were slightly off to the side by one of the workbenches, while the rest of the group was looking at a projection on the wall.

“We confiscated a large number of illegally manufactured Gaia Memories Some of the Foundation X executives we managed to detain were interrogated regarding further production plants of Gaia Memories but we don’t have any results regarding that yet,” Terui pulled up some images. “But we were able to find out that the main manufacturing plant was destroyed and the models we saw used today were either leftover stock or attempts at reproduction, which were flawed and resulted in considerable damage on the users. As for the Lockseeds that were presumably supplied by the Black Bodhi Tree in Zawame, none of those were in a state that would have been deemed intact. All had been used in experiments or were destroyed in battle.”

He looked at the group. “So the only known owners of Lockseeds right now are Kureshima Takatora and Kureshima Mitsuzane. As well as Sengoku Ryoma.”

“Unless the Black Bodhi Tree has a stash hidden away still.” Shotaro threw in.

“We will take care of that once we return.” Takatora crossed his arms. “It will be done.”

“As for the rogue Roidmude,” Shinnosuke took over. “We were unable to detect any traces of its core after its destruction. Parts of the armor were found but otherwise it seems to have been completely destroyed.”

Gou looked up, “What about the people whose minds were turned into data and sucked out by that thing? Did they return to their original bodies?” He had a bad feeling because the person next to him was, well, still the person next to him. Unchanged. Meaning it was still Chase instead of Kanno. And for some reason, Chase looked like a kicked puppy right now.

Shinnosuke looked down and closed his eyes. “We weren’t able to save the people who had been digitized by the Roidmude. Their data became one with the core and was destroyed with it. None of the people have regained consciousness.”

“Which brings me to this,” Gou looked at Chase. “Answers. Now!”

Chase lifted up the Mach-Chaser Shiftcar. “I was in here. A backup of my consciousness had been stored on the Chaser Signal Bike and it attracted the particles of my core that were floating around after my body was destroyed. Rinna also managed to make a data only copy of my core when the time anomaly happened and I was able to briefly return. When you, Rinna and Kyu were experimenting, you restored my full memory and my consciousness started to reawaken as well. I was watching from inside of this. Watching over you.”

“I was so close to bringing you back,” some of the tension in Gou’s shoulders eased away but he clenched a fist. “And now you’re back.” But somehow he wasn’t as happy about it as he thought he would be. There had been a price. A price he wasn’t sure he was willing to pay. He wasn’t the only one, though.

“I cannot accept this, Gou. I do not want someone dying for my sake. I did not want someone else dying for me.” Chase - with no brain to mouth filter as usual - blurted out.

“You’re a hypocrite to say that considering what YOU did, you stupid Ro- fuck, you’re human now, aren’t you?” Gou sighed and slumped down onto a chair. “Accept it. It was Kanno’s wish. He wanted you to take his place. He...He died a happy man. We should honour his last wish. And you know what, humans actually say that someone lives on in your heart. I want to believe that Kanno is alive somewhere inside of you. You copied him after all. In a way, you are him. He is a part of you and you are a part of him.”

Part of him was saying those words to make Chase feel better and another part of him was saying them to make himself feel better as well. Maybe if he told himself often enough-

“Actually, Kanno-kun isn’t dead.” Rinna joined the group and opened her palm and presented them with a brand-new Shiftcar. “Krim and I were able to recover all of his digitized consciousness data from a memory, almost like what we did with Chase-kun. We weren’t able to figure out a way to put it back into his body but Krim was able to upload it into this Shiftcar body. He says he likes it and he’s made friends with the others already. Especially he and Hunter seem to have hit it off right from the start.”

“A memory?” Philip blinked.

Mitsuzane looked over to the corner. “Ryoma.”

Rinna nodded and lifted a blank empty Gaia Memory up. “If not for this, Kanno would have been lost for us but Ryoma acted fast and saved him.”

Philip took the memory from Rinna and inspected it. It was definitely a partial Gaia Memory but there had been some alterations. He could see both the Shiftcar technology as well as Lockseed technology in it. “You made this?” He asked.

Ryoma shrugged. “Plan B. It’s always good to have one, right?”

“You knew about the abilities of the Roidmude? Why didn’t you warn us?”

“It was a theory. I didn’t have enough data. But I tried to prepare for the worst case if it were the case but luckily it wasn’t quite as bad.” Ryoma said in a matter of fact voice.

The little Shiftcar circled both Gou and Chase and made a happy beeping sound before it drove off to join the other Shiftcards and the Signal Bikes. Gou and Chase looked after it before they looked at each other.

There would be more things they had to talk about but not now.

“To round up this meeting,” Goto cleared his throat. “Foundation X has been suspended for the time being. All of their executives and branches are being rounded up across the country and I have issued requests for the same to be done overseas. Kureshima Takatora, who had been held captive by them has been freed and doesn’t seem to have suffered any considerable harm during captivity. Details will be confirmed by another physician later. The usage of the funds from the Kougami Foundation has also been traced and president Kougami has agreed to be compensated with both money and land. Assets of Foundation X will thus change hands to the Kougami Foundation and will be redeveloped. Reports on the Gaia Memory issues will be transferred directly to the Fuuto Department of Supernatural Crimes. Anything concerning Roidmude activity will be handled here at the Metropolitan Department. I think that is all.” He took a deep breath.

Terui nodded. “Dismissed.”

People started to pack up and got ready to leave.

“So you came back from the dead? A former Roidmude?” Date looked at Chase next to him. Then he addressed Gou, “Hey if you’re an expert on reviving people, or well not people actually but not people who look like people. If you know what I mean. I think we know a guy who might want to talk to you.” He grinned and pulled out a piece of paper. “His name is Hino Eiji. He might be overseas somewhere right now but I’ll tell him to get in touch with you and maybe he’ll send you an email or something.”

Gou made a face. “It’s not like I’m an expert but I can look into things?”

“If it’s the supernatural, you might want to try the Daitenkuuji Shrine. I think someone there might be able to look into that for you. I think deaths and revivals are their thing.” Shinnosuke, overhearing the conversation, suggested. “Ask for Tenkuuji Takeru. I’m sure he’ll at least listen to what you have to say.”

“Sounds good to me. I shall put it in my schedule.” Goto pulled out a thick agenda.

“Goto Shintaro, it appears that you are displaying symptoms of overwork. This has to be treated immediately or it will get very bad.” Date picked the other up. Goto protested of course but Date’s strong arms wouldn’t let go. “Well sirs, if you would excuse me. I have an emergency to tend to and it requires my attention immediately.”

Gou wolf-whistled. “Someone’s getting laid tonight.”

“Gou, that is most indecent behavior. Towards a police officer no less.” Chase commented.

“Shut up, Chase. You’re no fun.” Then he looked the other over. “And please get out of that terrible suit. Ow!” He looked at the Shiftcar that had rammed him and was beeping at him angrily now. “Okay, okay, it’s a nice suit but it doesn’t suit Chase, alright?” He pulled something out of a nearby locker and tossed it at Chase. “Heart left those.”

Chase looked at the purple clothes in his hand. “These are…”

“Yours.”

Once everyone else had left, including Shinnosuke, Rinna and Kyu, Chase changed into the clothes Gou had handed him. They felt nice and familiar, comfortable. When he closed one of the zippers, he accidentally cut himself. Blood dripped down from his finger.

Gou dabbed it with a tissue.

“You’re human now, Chase. You can no longer fight like you used to in your old body. So you need to promise me. Do not try and protect me like that ever again. Or I will kill you.” Gou looked the other in the eyes. “I swear.”

“That would make you a murderer.” Chase pointed out.

Gou snorted, “Going to prison might not be as painful as losing you again. Small price.”

Chase looked confused. “You’d have killed me. So what you are saying makes no sense.”

“Screw you, Chase.” Gou pulled the other into a tight hug. “I have so many things to tell you, idiot. SO many damn things.” His voice broke a little, so he paused before he told the other, “It’s good to have you back. My friend.”

 

The group around Shotaro and Philip returned to the detective agency, after a short detour to the hospital, where Takatora got a checkup. Terui went home to Akiko and his daughter.

Once everyone had settled somewhere around the W lair, Shotaro asked some questions that had been burning on his mind but had been not so important during their earlier discussion at the police headquarters.

He addressed Takatora directly, “What I don’t get is, why didn’t that Roidmude devour your consciousness, too. He copied you. So he must have had access to your memories.”

“He tried but he failed.” Takatora answered.

Philip followed up, “How did the Roidmude not get a hold of your mind? How’d you do it?”

“There was somebody blocking the access to his mind.” Ryoma threw in as if it was the most obvious thing in the world - maybe it was. “Takatora just found a picture of her actually. It was lying around somewhere here when we sat down.” He lifted the picture up for Philip and Shotaro to see.

“Saeko-neesan!” Philip exclaimed when the image turned out to be one of the Sonozaki Family. He’d wanted to save one. At least one, to remember his family.

Mitsuzane blinked when he got a closer look at the picture as well. He pointed at another person on it. “That’s the woman who appeared in my dreams!”

Philip’s eyes widened. “That’s Wakana-neesan!”

“How is that possible?” Shotaro frowned. “All of them are, well, they are no more.”

“Wait, can somebody catch us up here?” Mitsuzane asked. “Who are they exactly and why are they on a picture with our father?”

Shotaro sighed. “That’s the Sonozaki Family. Philip’s late family. The guy who looks like and who might or might not be your father, Sonozaki Ryubee. His wife. And then his two daughters, Saeko and Wakana. And finally Raito. Or well, Philip now.” He frowned. “What I’d like to know is, how Saeko and Wakana made it into your heads.”

Again, it was Ryoma who spoke up, “I can answer that for you.” He looked at the group. “Kureshima Amagi and Sonozaki Ryubee are the same person. He lived two lives. The timing of his disappearance from Zawame matches with the timing of his intensified activity in Fuuto.”

He smirked. “I also checked some papers and the inheritance that went to Mitsuzane and Takatora actually didn’t get finalized until his demise in Fuuto. His real death. Interestingly enough. And then if you consider his attempted assassination a scheme, it all fits. Using the Dummy Memory would have been one method or even using his own Terror one. It’s easy to alter a person’s memories. Or make them see something they want.”

Mitsuzane’s eyes widened. “So you’re saying that-”

“If that were all the data we had, the logical conclusion would make you, Takatora and Philip half-brothers. Yes.” Ryoma threw in.

“I figured that out myself, thank you,” Mitsuzane grumbled.

Ryoma chuckled. “What if I screw with you a little more. You’re not just half-brothers. You are actually fully blood related.”

This time Philip looked up with wide eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I heard from Takatora that he and Mitsuzane never really saw their mother. He says that she was always away on business and he only saw very little of her. She is barely in his memories from his childhood. Your father was around more but only when they were still young. Afterwards, it was Takatora and Mitsuzane. And well, the staff at that house of yours and whoever was around at Yggdrasil. Well, your mother was here in Fuuto most of the time. Or at ‘work’, when she was in Zawame.” Ryoma crossed his arms.

“When I saw those Gaia memories, I remembered something. I felt a sense of familiarity about them. She was one of the head scientists at the care facility I was raised at. She taught me a lot. Sometimes with methods I would rather not discuss here.” Ryoma reminisced. “She never gave away her real name. Her codename was ‘Shroud’.”

Philip’s grip on his book tightened. “Shroud.” He echoed the name.

Ryoma sighed. “Separating you two from the rest of your family was another big science project really. For the Sonozaki Family. Helheim was supposed to be a Plan B, an afterthought. So they put you here as, well, disposables. Ryubee favored his daughters. Your mother agreed as long as she got to keep her youngest.”

“And all of you, while loved some way or another, were far from being normal children. Saeko and Takatora were the first two test-tube babies. Followed by Wakana, Mitsuzane and finally Philip. You were conceived naturally but anything after that was all but that. Physical abilities and appearances as well as smarts don’t just happen to run in this family. Although if it did, you all come after your mother looks wise. Her appearance was rather pleasing to the eyes, if what people tell me was correct. I never really had an opinion.” Another thing he had not been equipped with or something that had been educated out of him at an early age. Ryoma didn’t miss it.

Silence fell over the group then when all of them let the information sink in.

Philips eyes darted up and back and forth. At one point, they met Mitsuzane’s.

“We’re a terribly dysfunctional family and well, there’s still a lot between nii-san and me that we need to work out but if you’re okay with that then well, you’re more than welcome to visit us any time.” Mitsuzane smiled. “We’ll be happy to have you.”

Takatora gave a nod in agreement as well.

Philip observed both Takatora and Mitsuzane. It felt familiar. It was strange just how familiar it felt. And yet it all made sense. They were so similar. Despite not having known either of the two brothers for longer than a few days, or even a few hours, Philip felt like he had known them for a lot longer than that.

There was almost no doubt that they had been raised by the same parents. Takatora and Saeko had been raised strictly by their father, they were thoroughbred nobles, ready to take over the family business. They had not been spoiled by their parents or their surroundings and knew nothing but their duty but somewhere underneath there was still kindness and love. Wakana and Mitsuzane were both people who had two sides, a face for the public and a true face. The truth was often nastier than one would have thought. And yet deep down, they were nice people, who had been raised with love and affection and yet also inherited some of the shadows. And they had had to deal with those shadows.

The looks Philip saw in Takatora’s and Mitsuzane’s eyes was the same he had seen in his sisters’. If he was willing, the relationship would go from being a more distant one, to a closer one. Would go from acquaintances to actual family.

He would never admit it openly - at least not to anyone but Shotaro maybe - but he still found himself longing for a family sometimes.

“I’ll take you up on that offer sometime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be concluded...
> 
>  
> 
> Following this chapter will be an epilogue that will tie up two loose ends:  
> Ryoma's not quite human existence  
> Chase's new human existence


	8. Epilogue

With all issues having been resolved, Takatora and Mitsuzane decided to return to Zawame after a couple of days in Fuuto. Takatora invited Philip and Shotaro to come along and the group left Fuuto early in the morning.

It turned out that Takatora hadn’t just invited them to come along for fun, though.

While Mitsuzane went to show Ryoma whatever remained of the scientists’ belongings, Takatora talked to Shotaro and Philip in his study.

“I’d like your help with something. I think you two would be the best for this job. I’ll compensate you for the work of course.” Takatora looked at the pair. “It’s about a few things left behind by m- our late father. I thought you might be interested in it as well.”

“Sure. What is it?” Philip asked.

“It’s about hidden research facilities he had.” Takatora pulled out some files and showed them to Shotaro and Philip. “I’d been looking into things but since I am also overseeing repair and recovery efforts in Zawame, I haven’t had the time.” He held up a particular file. “I think this one contains something we might be able to use in the not so distant future.”

When Shotaro and Philip looked at the file, their eyes widened. Takatora only gave them a nod. “We’ll look into this. No problem.” Shotaro assured. “I am not as well acquainted with people here in Zawame but I’m sure I can make things work.”

“I’ll give you all the information I can get out of this.” Philip nodded. He stopped in the door briefly, not following Shotaro immediately when the other left. “This is for him, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Takatora smiled. “Was it that obvious?”

Philip smiled as well and shook his head. “No but I had a feeling.”

Philip had noticed something about Ryoma almost from the very beginning. It was because it had been something very familiar that it had caught his eye. Small, subtle things that would probably go unnoticed by others. Things that people who had not experienced it themselves, would not be able to understand or even imagine.

He had felt the same way, back when he had been without a real body. Despite being able to touch things, technically eat and drink and feel and to walk in the human world, he hadn’t exactly been human. Touching things had never felt completely real and even colors and sounds had seemed odd somehow.

It surprised him that he hadn’t been the only one who had noticed though. 

There were many things he still wanted to learn about his new older brother. Takatora - and Mitsuzane, too - seemed like a very interesting person. When he walked into a hidden laboratory with Takatora, after their joint scurrying of the papers and documents left behind by Kureshima Amagi, he became even more intrigued.

Standing in front of the test-tube, Takatora had mused, “It has to be his own decision. I wouldn’t want to force him. I know he’ll deny wanting it, though, if asked.”

“Why do you say so?” Philip tilted his head over inquiringly.

Shrugging, Takatora replied, “That’s just who he is. He hates it if it’s not him accomplishing something. He hates being given things by someone else. Even if it is life itself.”

“You know him very well.” Philip observed.

“That’s what I’d like to think. That’s what I thought before as well but I was wrong. I could be wrong again. Who knows. I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.” Takatora walked back out with Philip in tow. “I can’t believe you found this place so fast. It took me months to find any of the other facilities.”

“We’re professionals,” Philip smiled. “And now it’s your turn, I guess.”

Takatora hummed. “Yeah.”

 

At a makeshift laboratory, or rather office, Ryoma was scanning some data on the computer in front of him. Most of it was his own research data from the Helheim project. Most of it was completely and utterly useless right now. Not all of it, though.

Ryoma had found himself a new project of sorts. He liked to keep busy, he’d get bored otherwise and rummaging around the Planetary Bookshelves really wasn’t as interesting if you didn’t have any purpose for the research and knowledge. All the knowledge in the world was useless if there was nothing to apply it to.

There was a knock on the door and then Takatora entered.

“Ryoma. I have something I’d like to show you. Do you have time?”

Straight to the point, as always. Ryoma appreciated that about Takatora. He hated when people waffled on and on and beat around the bush.

“What is it?” He asked.

“It’s not here. So, would you come with me?” Takatora lifted up the Lemon Lockseed. “I thought I’d ask before I take you along.” Always the gentlemen. Ryoma rose from his seat.

He shrugged. “Well, you seem pretty adamant about it. So let’s see what you’ve got.”

Takatora drove them to the far outskirts of Zawame, into what seemed to be like the middle of nowhere. Or almost. Nestled between lush greens and mountains stood what looked like a holiday residence. Ryoma figured it must be one of the Kureshima Family’s weekend homes or something along those lines. Although it looked like nobody had been taking care of it for years. It almost reminded him of the ruins taken over by the Helheim Plants. Vines had snuck through cracks in windows and walls.

“This is one lousy dating spot, Takatora.” Ryoma joked.

“We’re not here for a date,” ah Takatora. No humor, as usual. Ryoma chuckled and followed the other inside. Only to almost bump into the other’s back when Takatora stopped abruptly. “What is it?”

Takatora turned around. “Tell me, Ryoma. What do you think about the way you are now?”

“I didn’t think you’d go through so much trouble to kill me all the way out here.” Ryoma snorted. “Not like I have a body that could be found.”

“I’m not going to kill you. Answer my question.” Takatora remained calm and looked into Ryoma’s eyes. Ryoma made a face. Those eyes. He had trouble staying overly cocky whenever they looked at him like that. It was some kind of hidden power the other had.

So he answered. “My existence in this world is not a real one. I appear to have a physical body but I am nothing more than an avatar. I am data. I do not exist in flesh and blood anymore. You’ve seen my remains.” Ryoma looked away. “And it’s okay like this. I can continue to exist in this form. Actually, I think it’s great. I think this fits me.”

“Sometimes you’re a terrible liar, Ryoma.” Takatora commented and then pushed open a door. “I was doing some research of my own. With the help of Philip and Hidari.”

They stepped into what looked like an old, abandoned laboratory.

“You don’t know all of what my late father was doing. And neither did I until recently, actually but I did my homework.” Takatora flipped a switch and the lights turned on.

It only took Ryoma a glance at the equipment to know what kind of research had been done at this facility. “Cloning? How...tasteless and yet understandable. It must have been inspired by what he did to his own children. Taking things a step further, as always.” Ryoma made a face as he walked past the glass tubes lining the room, some broken, some intact.

Takatora glanced at Ryoma. “This was where I was bo- created. Along with the others. It seems like father and mother continued to use this place even after that.”

“I can’t believe he still had the funds for such an elaborate project. Then again, I never had much interest in money and the like. Too boring.” Ryoma shrugged.

“Well, would you call this boring as well? One of their experiments survived. The machines were powered by a different generator, one that was connected to the main power line, so it kept functioning. And the facility hasn’t been abandoned for too long. Not until my father was assassinated and...someone started to kill off researchers around him.”

Ryoma knew who Takatora was referring to but decided to keep quiet about that. But well, who knew how much Takatora already knew.

His eyes widened when Takatora showed him the last tank. It was him.

“They actually dared to clone me. Well, I guess I was one of their most prodigious charges, so it doesn’t really surprise me.” Ryoma looked away. “This should be destroyed. All of it.”

“Ryoma.”

“I mean it. It’s a disgrace.” He turned away.

Takatora sighed. “I knew you would say this. Don’t lie Ryoma. Deep down, you want to be human again. Deep down you miss being able to feel. To have a sense of touch.”

Ryoma glared at the other, “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I know you.” Takatora remained calm. Irritatingly so.

“Oh yeah? You knew me well enough to get killed by me, remember?” Ryoma spat.

Takatora corrected him and himself, “Almost. And well, I know you better now. Satisfied?”

Shaking his head, Ryoma walked away, averted his eyes. “No. You have no idea. I am happy like this. This is a far more superior form. This is an ultimate evolution.”

“You’re lying. You hate it because it’s an unknown to you. And a disgrace because it puts you into the same position as Kudo Kugai, who you didn’t have many nice things to say about last time I checked.” Takatora didn’t give up. He made Ryoma face him again. “Deep down you want to be human again. Not just this time but last time as well. You gave me an opening when we fought, Ryoma. Unconsciously, you let me strike you and destroy you because you did not want to be what Megahex had made you. You did not want to be a machine.” He looked at the other. “To be a good scientist, you need to touch and feel and experience. It just doesn’t work without all senses intact.”

Ryoma wanted to punch the other. To keep denying things. But he felt all the anger and angry energy draining from him, as if it were sucked out by those dark eyes or Takatora’s entire being. It left a bitter feeling of emptiness behind.

“Well, I can’t just upload myself into that. How do you expect this to work?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. We thought of that beforehand.” Takatora relaxed a little as well and then pulled something out of his pocket.

“We?” Ryoma blinked and then looked at what the other had pulled out. “Philip.”

“Indeed.”

Takatora ‘fed’ the Lemon Lockseed to the Xtreme Memory and Ryoma found his consciousness being sucked in as well. Everything that happened afterwards was a wild whirlwind of colors, which ultimately ended in blackness.

Blackness that slowly faded away again and made way for a ceiling. A sterile, white ceiling and the noises of a hospital. Nurses came into view as well, doctors asked him questions. He answered on autopilot - something he’d been trained in, answering questions about his own physical condition - moved and ate without really thinking about it as well. When the nurses took away the tray again, Ryoma found a mirror next to the bed and stared at the reflection in it. Nothing had changed. His hair was open and fell down to his shoulders and there were no scars or any other blemishes on his skin anywhere.

Ryoma flexed his fingers. It felt different to have a body that could feel, that needed to breathe and eat to stay alive. And yet it felt right. He hated the idea of relying on a gut feeling - it was so unscientific - but then again, a lot of things about humans were not quite logical or explainable. Feelings being at the top of that list.

“...you really are an idiot, Takatora. Did you forget about everything? I betrayed you. I killed people. I tried to kill you and almost succeeded. Twice. I almost killed Mitsuzane, too and manipulated him into doing things for me. I abandoned Zawame. And everything.” Ryoma muttered to himself. He was repeating himself, he knew that but it was something he just couldn’t make sense of. No matter how hard he tried. It was so frustrating it was laughable. And yet he didn’t hate it. Couldn’t hate it.

“And you died for all of that. Twice.” Takatora’s voice made him jump slightly.

“Once was under the influence of Megahex. That doesn’t count. The other time...well, I do understand your motives now. I’ve had time to think.” The other settled down on a chair next to the hospital bed. It brought back another set of memories, Ryoma mused.

He closed his eyes and settled back down into the pillows behind him. “You are too good for this world, Takatora.” Then he opened his eyes again to look at the other.

“I wasn’t good enough for you the first time around. Want to try a second time?” Takatora looked at Ryoma. “I believe the world needs you and your genius, still.”

“You sure know how to flatter a scientist.” Ryoma laughed softly and closed his eyes again, heaving a sigh. “Well, I guess it’s too late to go back on that now. You already brought me back. Although I guess I can no longer doubt that you’d kill me if it ever came down to that again.”

“Let’s not talk about that.”

“Okay, let’s change the topic then. How long was I out?”

“Not even a day. Things happened faster than I thought they would. Everyone was surprised to say the least. The doctors assure me there is nothing wrong with you. How about you? Anything that seems off?” Takatora asked.

Ryoma shook his head. “No. I almost wish there was. It feels too natural. Too normal. It’s like I never died. As if everything was just some kind of hallucination.”

“Good.” Takatora put a hand on Ryoma’s arm. “It’s--”

“Are you two going to kiss or what?” A voice asked from the direction of the door. Takatora and Ryoma looked up to find Mitsuzane there.

“Mitsuzane.” Takatora acknowledged his brother.

Ryoma gave the other a nasty and yet also amused look.

“Wouldn’t be the first time for nii-san to make bad life choices.” Mitsuzane looked at Ryoma. “But at least for this one, I know what he’s getting himself into. And maybe also what I am getting myself into. So it could be worse.”

“Your brother does make pretty bad life choices, I agree. We’ll just both have to see to it that they aren’t too bad to handle.” Ryoma crossed his arms.

Takatora rolled his eyes but the corners of his lips were curled up slightly.

 

In a different city, Chase was sitting on a lawnchair in the small garden of the Tomari family home. He and Gou had come over after taking their bikes out for a spin by the ocean. Kiriko had insisted on having them over for lunch and had apparently made it her mission to stuff them until they fell over. She had also been very delighted upon hearing that Chase had come back and had greeted him very enthusiastically at the entrance.

She had changed, Chase had noticed immediately. A part of him was sad about being unable to have been around for so many things in her life. Her wedding and then the birth of her son. Kiriko had told him that it couldn’t be helped but that he would be able to make plenty of memories with her, with all of them, from now on.

The feelings that had stirred inside of Chase were something he couldn’t understand.

Right now as well, he was trying to make sense of a whole bunch of things his senses picked up. The warmth of the sun on his skin, the way sweat appeared on his forehead and pearled down. The way things around him smelled and what kind of reactions his body had to them. He was trying to figure out how to live with a real human body.

A shadow blocked the sun and he looked up to find Gou standing there. “Gou.”

“You feeling okay there? You’ve been out here the whole time after lunch.” The other flopped down into the other chair next to Chase’s.

“There are many things I do not understand and have to think about.” Chase admitted.

Gou looked at the other for a few long moments and then smiled. “I guess. Let’s not think too hard over here, though. We should get going. I want nee-chan and Shin-nii to have some time to themselves, too and for Eiji to have some quality time with both of his parents. Shin-nii’s been so busy lately, they deserve it.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Chase agreed and rose from his chair. “We shall go then.”

After saying their farewells, Chase and Gou got onto their bikes and made their way back downtown to Kanno’s apartment - it was where they were staying for the time being. Gou didn’t really have a place of his own, having stayed over at his sister’s place before or most of the time, just sleeping at the Drive Pit - when he had been sleeping at all.

As they rode along the street, he thought of the conversation he had had with his sister.

_“Gou, you need to teach Chase how to be human.” Kiriko told her brother. “There are so many things that make his new life different from his previous one.”_

_Kiriko had settled down with Eiji in her arm and had smiled at him warmly. “If you like someone, you support them. You do whatever you can for them. You want them to be happy. And that feeling will only grow stronger if it is reciprocated.”_

_“What makes you think that I-”_

_“Come on, Gou. I’m your sister! I know you.” Kiriko had huffed softly. And then the smile had returned. “And well, it might have started as friendship but Gou, you can’t tell me that all you did up until now was purely because of friendship. Maybe you haven’t really realized or admitted it to yourself but I think there is more behind it. Or you wouldn’t have gotten so obsessed over it. You wouldn’t have let your heart guide you as much.”_

He was still thinking about those words even after they had arrived at the apartment and had gone inside. They both shed their jackets and settled down in the living room.

Gou hadn’t realized that they had just stared at each other in silence after that. Or rather, Chase had stared at him while he had stared off into space but now he could feel the other’s eyes on him and surely enough, when he looked up, Chase was looking straight at him.

“What?” He hadn’t meant to snap at the other but it just came out that way. “Is there something on my face?” Gou tried to make it sound a bit more humorous.

“No. There isn’t. I just find myself unable to avert my gaze.” Chase replied, honest to a fault. “And I find myself thinking about things. Thinking about different actions I want to execute but am unsure about. So I haven’t acted on those thoughts.”

Gou rested his elbow on the narrow table and looked at his friend. “What kind of thoughts? Maybe I can help you make sense of them.” Had to start somewhere.

Chase moved closer and reached up to cup Gou’s cheek with one hand. It made Gou blink and pull back a little bit instinctively. “I was thinking about doing something like this.”

“Okay?” Gou blinked.

“And then something like this.” Chase leaned in and kissed him.

When the realization of what exactly was happening dawned on Gou, his eyes widened. It took his brain a few moments before it kicked back into action and he grabbed the other’s shoulders and pushed him away. “Chase, what--”

“Ah, I guess it was a mistake to act on those thoughts after all. My apologies.” Chase bowed his head a little bit. “I am sorry if I caused you any discomfort.”

“No, you stupid no-longer-piece-of-scrap-metal,” Gou laughed a little, both at his terrible naming sense and the whole situation in general. “No, that’s not it. It’s just. Ah, no, you know what, fuck talking and making sense of things. Screw all this thinking. Sometimes it’s better not to think at all. So whatever. Here goes.”

He closed the distance between them again and this time he initiated the kiss. And then Chase kissed back and yes, things would just go from here.

Gou decided he was going to teach Chase about his new human body in a practical way first. Feelings and all that complicated stuff could wait until later.

 

A dark figure made his way to the Next Genome Institute research facility. They were greeted by a young woman by the door and admitted inside.

Once they had reached the main office, a suitcase changed hands. The man behind the large desk checked the contents, a set of clear disks. “Fragments of the Roidmude data, as requested, Dr. Zaizen. May it aid you with your research.”

“What a most fortunate coincidence that you were at the right place at the right time,” Zaizen Michihiko smiled and closed the case again. Maybe this will be the last ingredient I need. This data might be the key to stabilizing the Bugster Virus. Or it might become the antidote. Who knows, how these two lifeforms will react to each other. Only time will tell.”

Zaizen walked his late night guest back to the door personally. They passed a hospital room on the way. It held a single bed with a sleeping youth on it.

“Who is that?”

“Him? Oh, our current research volunteer. A young boy called Hojo Emu, I believe. You might want to remember his name, for he might become the first one of a new species.”

“I see. Very well. It was a pleasure to deal with you.”

“Pleasure is mine. Have a pleasant evening, president Kuroto Dan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the ride. I'm sorry if this end was a little rushed but to be honest, I wanted to be done with this. I might or might not write some spin-offs in the future. We'll see.
> 
> I hope I tied up all loose ends. If not, let me know.


End file.
